Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "मछली" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce मछली in Hindi?

मछली is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mə.tʃʰliː/. It means “fish.” much-LEE — a real puff after the ch, and the l pressed straight against it with no vowel between.

much-LEE — a real puff after the ch, and the l pressed straight against it with no vowel between.

मछली /mə.tʃʰliː/

machhlee

The schwa syllable disappears at speed and the long ee at the end takes the beat, with the aspiration in the middle filling the junction. That breath is where most of the word's audible time lives.

Listen: मछली

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Sound it out

ma m with a bare inherent vowel; the syllable is a quick run-up.

chh छ is the aspirated affricate: full closure, then a distinct burst of breath. Without it the word loses its shape.

lee A bright front l following the aspirated release directly, then a long tense ई — the feminine ending.

Hear it in a sentence

मछली समुद्र में तैरती है।

Machhlee samudra meṁ tairtee hai.

The fish swims in the sea.

Listen: मछली समुद्र में तैरती है।

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"Machhlee samudra meṁ tairtee hai" makes tairtee feminine to agree with machhlee, and samudra ends in a consonant cluster because its final schwa is deleted. So a word ending in a cluster runs straight into a nasalized postposition.

Where English speakers slip

The puff on chh vanishes, leaving "machlee," and learners insert a vowel between the affricate and the l. Both matter: blow after the closure, then bring the tongue tip to the ridge immediately, with no vowel in between.