Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "कुछ" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce कुछ in Hindi?

कुछ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kʊtʃʰ/. It means “something.” kuchh with a short lax u and an aspirated affricate — a real puff of air after the ch.

kuchh with a short lax u and an aspirated affricate — a real puff of air after the ch.

कुछ /kʊtʃʰ/

kuchh

One short-vowelled syllable closed by an affricate — brief in vowel time, but the aspiration adds a tail that makes the word feel longer than it looks. That trailing breath is the only length it has.

Listen: कुछ

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Sound it out

ku The velar stop stays dry while the affricate at the end does the puffing — English gives you exactly the reverse distribution. The vowel between them is short and lax.

chh छ is the aspirated affricate: complete the closure, then release with an audible burst of breath. Without it the word becomes something else.

Hear it in a sentence

क्या आप कुछ पीना चाहेंगे?

Kyaa aap kuchh peenaa chaahenge?

Would you like something to drink?

Listen: क्या आप कुछ पीना चाहेंगे?

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"Kyaa aap kuchh peenaa chaahenge?" opens with kyaa as a yes-no marker and pairs kuchh with the infinitive peenaa. Peenaa's unaspirated प right after kuchh's aspirated छ is a perfect back-to-back test of where the breath belongs.

Where English speakers slip

The puff on chh goes missing and the puff on k appears instead — exactly the wrong distribution, and precisely what English rhythm produces by default. Hold your hand in front of your mouth: you should feel nothing at the start of the word and a distinct burst at the end.