Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "खेलना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce खेलना in Hindi?

खेलना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kʰeːl.naː/. It means “to play.” KHAYL-naa — a real puff of air after the k, a flat long e, and a bright l.

KHAYL-naa — a real puff of air after the k, a flat long e, and a bright l.

खेलना /kʰeːl.naː/

khelnaa

The word begins with its most demanding sound, and the aspiration adds real time at the very start — which is why learners often let the puff decay before they reach the ending. Both syllables are heavy, and the final vowel must stay long.

Listen: खेलना

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

kh Aspirated ख: a full velar stop followed by a strong breath. It is not the fricative of Scottish "loch."

el A long steady ए closed by a clear front l. English would velarise that l before a consonant; Hindi does not.

naa Two beats total, since the schwa after ल is deleted; the ending's long vowel is the only thing left to carry duration.

Hear it in a sentence

बच्चे पार्क में खेल रहे हैं।

Bachche paark meṁ khel rahe haiṁ.

The children are playing in the park.

Listen: बच्चे पार्क में खेल रहे हैं।

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Bachche paark meṁ khel rahe haiṁ" uses the bare stem khel with the progressive, and bachche is the masculine plural of bachchaa — so the sentence has a geminated ch as well as the aspirated kh. Paark takes a retroflex-free r but a long aa.

Where English speakers slip

The aspiration usually goes missing, leaving "kelnaa," and the l usually goes dark, giving "kheeownaa." Fix them independently: first practise kh alone with a hand in front of your mouth, then practise the l with the tongue tip firmly on the ridge and the back of the tongue relaxed.