Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "कपड़े" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce कपड़े in Hindi?

कपड़े is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kəp.ɽeː/. It means “clothes.” KUP-ṛay — a dry k, a schwa, an unaspirated p, then a retroflex flap and a long flat e.

KUP-ṛay — a dry k, a schwa, an unaspirated p, then a retroflex flap and a long flat e.

कपड़े /kəp.ɽeː/

kapṛe

Schwa deletion after प is what keeps this to two beats rather than three. The opening is light in vowel terms, and the long e at the end takes the beat.

Listen: कपड़े

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Sound it out

ka Release क completely dry — the model is the k of "skip," not of "kip" — and follow it with a colourless schwa.

p Unaspirated प closing the syllable; its inherent vowel is deleted, which pushes the p straight against the flap.

ṛe ड़ curls the tongue tip up and back and flicks it forward once, opening into a long ए held motionless — the plural ending.

Hear it in a sentence

ये कपड़े बहुत सुंदर हैं।

Ye kapṛe bahut sundar haiṁ.

These clothes are very beautiful.

Listen: ये कपड़े बहुत सुंदर हैं।

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"Ye kapṛe bahut sundar haiṁ" uses the plural ye and haiṁ, and kapṛe is itself the plural of kapṛaa — the flap stays put while the final vowel changes. Sundar is invariant, so it gives no clue about number.

Where English speakers slip

The flap becomes a plain d or an English r, and beginners insert a vowel between the p and it. Press the p straight against the flap with nothing in between, and make the flap a single quick backward-then-forward brush of the tongue tip.