Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "कब" in Hindi?

kub — dry k, bare schwa, voiced b. Over in an instant.

कब /kəb/

kab

One short closed syllable — heavy by position, minimal in time. It is a question word, so intonation may lift it, but that is a phrasal effect and not lexical stress; the vowel itself stays short and neutral.

Listen: कब

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Sound it out

k Unaspirated क with a completely silent release; English's initial puff would move it toward ख.

ab A colourless schwa closed by ब, whose voicing must continue right through the lip closure.

Hear it in a sentence

आप कब वापस आ रहे हैं?

Aap kab vaapas aa rahe haiṁ?

When are you coming back?

Listen: आप कब वापस आ रहे हैं?

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"Aap kab vaapas aa rahe haiṁ?" places kab after the subject rather than at the front, which is standard Hindi order for interrogatives. Vaapas after it uses the ambiguous व sound and two schwas, so the whole middle of the sentence is light.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers open the vowel into "cab" and devoice the final b. The vowel should be as neutral as the one in "cub," and the b should still be buzzing when you release it. Suppressing the initial puff on the k is the third adjustment.