Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "लौटना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce लौटना in Hindi?

लौटना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /lɔːʈ.naː/. It means “to return / to come back.” LAUT-naa with the vowel of "caught" and a retroflex ṭ — tongue tip curled back to the roof of the mouth.

LAUT-naa with the vowel of "caught" and a retroflex ṭ — tongue tip curled back to the roof of the mouth.

लौटना /lɔːʈ.naː/

lauṭnaa

Heavy closed syllable followed by a heavy open one; the retroflex coda gives the first syllable a dark, hollow resonance that makes it feel weightier than the count alone suggests. Two beats, since the vowel after ट is deleted.

Listen: लौटना

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Sound it out

lau Clear l plus औ, a single long rounded vowel with no glide. The roman au does not mean the diphthong of "loud."

ṭ Retroflex ट: curl the tongue tip up and back so it strikes behind the alveolar ridge, and release it without any puff of air.

naa Now bring the tongue forward to the teeth for the dental n — the contrast between the retroflex ट and the dental न in adjacent segments is the heart of this word.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं अभी लौटता हूँ।

Maiṁ abhee lauṭtaa hooṁ.

I will be right back.

Listen: मैं अभी लौटता हूँ।

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"Maiṁ abhee lauṭtaa hooṁ" doubles the ट in lauṭtaa, so the retroflex closure is held and then released into the habitual ending. Abhee opens with a breathy-voiced भ, giving the sentence one breathy and one retroflex challenge back to back.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers produce an alveolar t and a diphthongised vowel, so "LOWT-na" comes out with the tongue in the wrong place and the mouth moving during the vowel. The retroflex is the priority: curl the tongue tip back until it feels excessive, and keep the vowel frozen in a rounded position.