Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "लेना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce लेना in Hindi?

लेना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /leː.naː/. It means “to take.” LAY-naa with a clear front l and a long flat e that does not glide upward.

LAY-naa with a clear front l and a long flat e that does not glide upward.

लेना /leː.naː/

lenaa

Nothing complicates the rhythm here: two long vowels, no clusters, no aspiration, no retroflexion anywhere. That makes it a good word for concentrating purely on vowel length and on keeping both vowels free of English glides.

Listen: लेना

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

Sound it out

le Bright l with the tongue tip on the ridge, plus a steady long ए. The English "lay" glides; this one does not.

naa Both l and n are made near the front of the mouth, so the word has a light, forward feel from beginning to end; the final aa stays fully open.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं एक कॉफ़ी लूँगा।

Maiṁ ek kofee looṁgaa.

I will have a coffee.

Listen: मैं एक कॉफ़ी लूँगा।

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

"Maiṁ ek kofee looṁgaa" replaces the infinitive with the masculine future looṁgaa, whose nasalized ooṁ is the first-person marker. That form looks nothing like lenaa on the page, which is why hearing the shared l is useful.

Where English speakers slip

The diphthong is the problem: English speakers say "LAY-ee-nuh," gliding the first vowel and reducing the second. Hold the e in one position and give the final aa its full length. A dark l would also drag the word backwards, so keep the tongue tip forward.