Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "लाना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce लाना in Hindi?

लाना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /laː.naː/. It means “to bring.” LAA-naa — clear l, two long open vowels, and a dental n in between.

LAA-naa — clear l, two long open vowels, and a dental n in between.

लाना /laː.naː/

laanaa

Two evenly heavy syllables with the same vowel, so the word should sound completely balanced. The near-identical shape of laanaa and jaanaa and aanaa means rhythm alone will not distinguish them — the initial consonant carries all the information.

Listen: लाना

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Sound it out

laa A bright front l opening into long आ; keep the tongue body low so the vowel stays clear.

naa Tongue on the teeth for the n, then a second long aa of identical length.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं पार्टी में मिठाई लाऊँगा।

Maiṁ paarṭee meṁ miṭhaaee laaooṁgaa.

I will bring sweets to the party.

Listen: मैं पार्टी में मिठाई लाऊँगा।

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

"Maiṁ paarṭee meṁ miṭhaaee laaooṁgaa" ends in the masculine future laaooṁgaa, and both paarṭee and miṭhaaee contain retroflex ट and ठ, so the tongue curls back twice before you reach the verb. The nasalized ooṁ in the ending is the first-person future marker.

Where English speakers slip

The l is the giveaway: an English speaker's l before a back vowel is dark and velarised, which muddies the aa that follows. Put the tongue tip firmly on the ridge and keep the tongue body flat. The second aa also gets reduced under English rhythm, and it must not.