LingoDrop
Hindi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "को" in Hindi?
koh with a dry unaspirated k and a pure long o that does not glide toward oo.
ko
A heavy syllable that nonetheless takes no accent, because postpositions cliticise onto the noun phrase in front of them. In connected speech dost-ko is a single rhythmic word with the beat on dost.
Listen: को
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Hear it in a sentence
मैंने अपने दोस्त को बुलाया।
Maiṁne apne dost ko bulaayaa.
I called my friend.
Listen: मैंने अपने दोस्त को बुलाया।
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"Maiṁne apne dost ko bulaayaa" shows ko as the object marker on a definite human object, and it also forces apne into the oblique form — apnaa would be wrong before a postposition. Maiṁne carries the ergative -ne because bulaayaa is a perfective transitive.
Where English speakers slip
Speakers of English glide the vowel to "koh-w" and often add a puff to the k. Both are small but audible. The cleaner model is the Spanish or Italian o: lips rounded, held in one position, released without movement.