Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "रंग" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce रंग in Hindi?

रंग is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɾəŋɡ/. It means “color.” rung, with a tapped r at the front and a nasal that assimilates to the following g — so it really is the ng of "finger," not of "singer."

rung, with a tapped r at the front and a nasal that assimilates to the following g — so it really is the ng of "finger," not of "singer."

रंग /ɾəŋɡ/

rang

A single closed syllable with a short vowel — light in vowel terms, heavy by position. There is nothing to place, but avoid stretching the vowel to match English "rang," which has a fuller, longer nucleus.

Listen: रंग

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Sound it out

r One quick tap of the tongue tip against the ridge. Beginning a word with a tap is unfamiliar in English, where initial r is an approximant.

a Short inherent schwa, no more colour than the u of "cup."

ng The anusvara takes its place of articulation from what follows, so before ग it becomes a velar nasal, and the g itself remains audible.

Hear it in a sentence

आपका पसंदीदा रंग कौन सा है?

Aapkaa pasandeedaa rang kaun saa hai?

What is your favorite color?

Listen: आपका पसंदीदा रंग कौन सा है?

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"Aapkaa pasandeedaa rang kaun saa hai?" makes both aapkaa and pasandeedaa agree with the masculine rang, and kaun saa likewise takes the masculine saa. So four words in the sentence are tuned to one noun's gender — a good reminder that rang's grammatical class matters more than its sound.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers usually deliver a full retroflex-ish English r and then the bare velar nasal of "sing," dropping the g. Hindi wants the opposite on both counts: a tap at the front, and an audible g at the back after the nasal. Think of the middle of "hunger" rather than the end of "hung."