Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "समय" in Hindi?

suh-MUY — two schwas and a y glide at the end, with nothing long in the word.

समय /sə.məj/

samay

Set against the long-vowelled time nouns in this chapter, this should sound conspicuously quick — there is no long vowel in it at all, and the closing glide adds weight by position rather than duration.

Listen: समय

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Sound it out

sa s with a bare inherent vowel; light and quick.

may m, a second schwa, and य as a closing glide. The final य is a consonant, not a vowel, so the word ends on a glide rather than a full vowel sound.

Hear it in a sentence

मेरे पास समय नहीं है।

Mere paas samay naheeṁ hai.

I don't have time.

Listen: मेरे पास समय नहीं है।

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"Mere paas samay naheeṁ hai" uses the mere paas frame for possession and negates with naheeṁ before the verb. Samay is masculine and takes no marking, which is why nothing in the sentence changes shape around it.

Where English speakers slip

The final य gets read as a full vowel, giving "sa-ma-yee" with three syllables, or the schwas get upgraded to full a vowels, giving "SAH-may." Both vowels are neutral, and the word has exactly two beats ending on a glide.