Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "नीला" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce नीला in Hindi?

नीला is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /niː.laː/. It means “blue.” NEE-laa: dental n, long ee, then a clear l and a long aa. Two full-length vowels, neither reduced.

NEE-laa: dental n, long ee, then a clear l and a long aa. Two full-length vowels, neither reduced.

नीला /niː.laː/

neelaa

Weight is split evenly between two long vowels, so the word should sound level rather than trochaic. The English instinct is to hammer NEE and swallow the second vowel into a schwa; here both vowels are equally long and equally distinct.

Listen: नीला

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Sound it out

nee Dental न — tongue on the upper teeth, not the ridge — followed by tense long ई.

laa Clear front l opening into long आ. Keep the l bright; the darkened English l would muddy the vowel that follows.

Hear it in a sentence

आसमान नीला है।

Aasmaan neelaa hai.

The sky is blue.

Listen: आसमान नीला है।

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"Aasmaan neelaa hai" works because aasmaan is masculine, so the adjective keeps its -aa citation form; that is a piece of luck worth noticing, since half the colour words in this chapter change shape depending on the noun. Aasmaan itself opens with a long aa and closes with a dental n.

Where English speakers slip

The trap is English rhythm rather than any single segment: unstressed vowels in English reduce, so neelaa tends to arrive as "NEE-luh." In Hindi that final aa is a long vowel and also the masculine agreement marker, so reducing it blurs grammar as well as sound. Give it the same length as the ee.