Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "पत्ता" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce पत्ता in Hindi?

पत्ता is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /pət̪.t̪aː/. It means “leaf.” PUT-taa — hold the dental closure for an extra beat before releasing into the long aa.

PUT-taa — hold the dental closure for an extra beat before releasing into the long aa.

पत्ता /pət̪.t̪aː/

pattaa

Time goes into the middle of this word rather than into either vowel, exactly as in kuttaa. Consonant length is contrastive in Hindi, so shortening the hold changes the word's shape rather than just its speed.

Listen: पत्ता

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

Sound it out

pa No puff escapes as the lips separate, and the inherent vowel is a bare schwa.

tt A geminate dental stop: the tongue tip stays against the upper teeth for about twice the normal duration. Both halves are unaspirated.

aa The long आ released after that extended closure, marking masculine agreement.

Hear it in a sentence

पेड़ से एक पत्ता गिरा।

Peṛ se ek pattaa giraa.

A leaf fell from the tree.

Listen: पेड़ से एक पत्ता गिरा।

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

"Peṛ se ek pattaa giraa" uses se for the source and the intransitive perfective giraa, agreeing masculine with pattaa. Peṛ at the front ends in a retroflex flap, so the sentence pairs a flap with a geminate dental.

Where English speakers slip

A single alveolar t is the default output, and in American English an intervocalic t becomes a flap — which here would land near ड़ and produce something closer to paṛaa. Keep the tongue tip on the teeth and hold the closure noticeably long.