Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "तक" in Hindi?

tuck, but with the tongue tip on the teeth for the t and no puff on either consonant.

तक /t̪ək/

tak

Short vowel, closed syllable, and postpositional function: light in every sense. It should sound like a small tag on the end of the phrase rather than an independent word.

Listen: तक

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Sound it out

t Dental त. English t at the start of a stressed syllable is aspirated and alveolar — two adjustments needed here at once.

ak A short schwa closed by an unaspirated k. The vowel is colourless; the k is released quietly or not at all.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं पाँच बजे तक काम करता हूँ।

Maiṁ paaṁch baje tak kaam kartaa hooṁ.

I work until five o'clock.

Listen: मैं पाँच बजे तक काम करता हूँ।

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

"Maiṁ paaṁch baje tak kaam kartaa hooṁ" attaches tak after the time expression paaṁch baje, so the whole phrase means "until five." Notice paaṁch keeps its nasalized vowel even in this compressed, unstressed position.

Where English speakers slip

Because the roman spelling looks like a plain English syllable, most learners just say "tack" — alveolar, aspirated, with the fuller vowel of English "tack." Move the tongue tip forward to the teeth, cut the puff, and let the vowel be a schwa.