How to Pronounce 'ढूँढना': Hindi Pronunciation Guide

Q: How do you pronounce ढूँढना in Hindi?

ढूँढना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɖʱũːɖʱ.naː/. It means “to look for / to search.” Two breathy-voiced retroflex d's around a long nasalized oo — probably the hardest word in the whole course.

How do you pronounce "ढूँढना" in Hindi?

Two breathy-voiced retroflex d's around a long nasalized oo — probably the hardest word in the whole course.

ढूँढना /ɖʱũːɖʱ.naː/

ḍhooṁḍhnaa

A superheavy first syllable — long nasal vowel between two aspirated retroflexes — followed by a heavy ending. Practically all the word's time is spent in that first syllable, and rushing it is what makes learners' versions unintelligible.

Listen: ढूँढना

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Sound it out

ḍh ढ combines three things at once: retroflexion (tongue tip curled back), voicing (folds already buzzing), and aspiration (breath rushing out on release). English has none of these in combination.

ooṁ A long ऊ nasalized throughout by the chandrabindu; the soft palate stays lowered for the whole vowel.

ḍh The same breathy retroflex again, closing the syllable — so the word is bracketed by identical difficult consonants.

naa The tongue comes all the way forward to the teeth for the dental n, a big movement after two retroflexes.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं एक अच्छा रेस्टोरेंट ढूँढ रहा हूँ।

Maiṁ ek achchhaa resṭoreṇṭ ḍhooṁḍh rahaa hooṁ.

I am looking for a good restaurant.

Listen: मैं एक अच्छा रेस्टोरेंट ढूँढ रहा हूँ।

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

"Maiṁ ek achchhaa resṭoreṇṭ ḍhooṁḍh rahaa hooṁ" uses the bare stem ḍhooṁḍh with the progressive, and resṭoreṇṭ is spelled with retroflex ट and ण throughout, so the sentence asks for retroflexion five separate times before you reach the verb ending.

Where English speakers slip

Nearly every English speaker produces "doond-naa" with alveolar d's, no breathiness and a nasal consonant instead of a nasal vowel — four substitutions in one word. Build it in stages: first the retroflex position alone, then add voicing, then add the sigh on release, and only then the nasalized vowel between them.