Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "कि" in Hindi?

A quick, light "ki" with a short lax vowel — like the first syllable of "kitten," not like "key."

कि /kɪ/

ki

This is one of the genuinely light syllables in Hindi — short vowel, open syllable, and a grammatical function word to boot — so it should be the fastest thing in any sentence containing it. Treat it as a hinge, not a beat.

Listen: कि

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Sound it out

k Unaspirated क; being unstressed helps, since English aspirates most strongly under stress.

i Short इ, lax and brief. Hindi contrasts this with long ई, and lengthening it here would make the word sound like a different one.

Hear it in a sentence

मुझे पता है कि आप सही हैं।

Mujhe pataa hai ki aap sahee haiṁ.

I know that you are right.

Listen: मुझे पता है कि आप सही हैं।

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"Mujhe pataa hai ki aap sahee haiṁ" puts ki between the two clauses, and unlike English "that" it cannot be omitted. Rhythmically it should almost vanish between hai and aap, so the two clauses feel joined rather than separated.

Where English speakers slip

The main error is length: English speakers read the roman i as "ee" and produce "kee," which is a different Hindi word entirely — the feminine possessive की. Keep it short and lax, and keep the k puffless.