Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "महीना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce महीना in Hindi?

महीना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mə.ɦiː.naː/. It means “month.” muh-HEE-naa — three beats, with a soft voiced h and long vowels in the last two syllables.

muh-HEE-naa — three beats, with a soft voiced h and long vowels in the last two syllables.

महीना /mə.ɦiː.naː/

maheenaa

One light syllable feeding two heavy ones, so the word broadens across its three beats. Two consecutive long vowels of different qualities keep it from sounding flat, and the initial schwa should be genuinely brief.

Listen: महीना

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Sound it out

ma m with a bare schwa, so light it can almost disappear at speed.

hee Voiced ह into a long tense ई. The h is a murmur rather than a burst of air, so the two syllables blend.

naa Dental न on the upper teeth, then a long open aa closing the word.

Hear it in a sentence

पिछले महीने मैंने बहुत यात्रा की।

Pichhle maheene maiṁne bahut yaatraa kee.

Last month I traveled a lot.

Listen: पिछले महीने मैंने बहुत यात्रा की।

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"Pichhle maheene maiṁne bahut yaatraa kee" uses the oblique maheene for the time expression and the ergative maiṁne with the perfective kee, which is feminine to agree with yaatraa. Pichhle opens with an aspirated छ, so a puff lands right before the noun.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers make the h voiceless and strong, which artificially separates the syllables and puts a false stress on the first. Hindi's ह is voiced and weak. The final aa also tends to reduce to a schwa under English rhythm, and it should stay long.