Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "खोना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce खोना in Hindi?

खोना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kʰoː.naː/. It means “to lose.” KHOH-naa — puff after the k, and a long o held in a single lip position.

KHOH-naa — puff after the k, and a long o held in a single lip position.

खोना /kʰoː.naː/

khonaa

Two balanced heavy syllables with no clusters. The aspiration at the front is the only thing that disrupts the evenness, and it should not be so heavy that it turns into a separate beat.

Listen: खोना

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Sound it out

kh Aspirated ख with real breath following the stop release.

o Long ओ, monophthongal. English "oh" narrows the lips as it ends; keep them still here.

naa Both syllables are open, so nothing interrupts the flow — a dental nasal and then a wide-open long aa.

Hear it in a sentence

मैंने अपनी चाबी खो दी।

Maiṁne apnee chaabee kho dee.

I lost my key.

Listen: मैंने अपनी चाबी खो दी।

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"Maiṁne apnee chaabee kho dee" adds the completive dee, which is feminine to agree with chaabee, and apnee is feminine for the same reason. The bare stem kho keeps its long o, so the vowel survives even when the infinitive ending is gone.

Where English speakers slip

Losing the aspiration turns this into konaa, and diphthongising the vowel makes it sound like the English word "cone" with an ending attached. The two errors reinforce each other because English "koh" naturally has both. Add the puff first, then flatten the vowel.