Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "नंबर" in Hindi?

NUM-bur — a dental n, two schwas, and a final flick of the tongue tip.

नंबर /nəm.bəɾ/

nambar

English speakers hear their own word "number" and stretch the opening syllable; Hindi gives both vowels the same short value and lets the closed syllables supply what weight there is.

Listen: नंबर

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Sound it out

nam The initial nasal is made on the teeth, and the anusvara that closes the syllable takes its place from the following ब, so it surfaces as m.

bar Plain voiced ब, a second schwa, and one quick contact of the tongue tip.

Hear it in a sentence

आपका नंबर क्या है?

Aapkaa nambar kyaa hai?

What is your number?

Listen: आपका नंबर क्या है?

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"Aapkaa nambar kyaa hai?" makes aapkaa masculine to agree with nambar, the same pattern as with naam. The two questions are structurally identical, which makes them a useful pair for hearing how the possessive tracks the noun.

Where English speakers slip

Import the English word and you get an alveolar n, a fuller first vowel and a long rhotic ending — three changes in a very short word. Push the n forward onto the teeth, keep both vowels as neutral schwas, and reduce the final r to a single flick.