Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "टूथब्रश" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce टूथब्रश in Hindi?

टूथब्रश is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ʈuːt̪ʰ.bɾəʃ/. It means “toothbrush.” ṬOOTH-brush — a retroflex t at the front, an aspirated dental th in the middle, and a tapped r.

ṬOOTH-brush — a retroflex t at the front, an aspirated dental th in the middle, and a tapped r.

टूथब्रश /ʈuːt̪ʰ.bɾəʃ/

ṭoothbrash

Decidedly front-heavy, with a long vowel and an aspirated coda up front and a schwa in a cluster behind. Hindi has reshaped both English consonants — the t into a retroflex, the th into a stop — which changes the rhythm as well as the sounds.

Listen: टूथब्रश

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Sound it out

ṭoo ट is retroflex — tongue tip curled up and back — released without aspiration into a long ऊ.

th थ is an aspirated dental stop, not the fricative English uses in "tooth": the airflow stops on the teeth, then releases with a puff.

brash Plain ब, a single flick of the tongue tip, a bare schwa, and श to close.

Hear it in a sentence

मेरा टूथब्रश नीला है।

Meraa ṭoothbrash neelaa hai.

My toothbrush is blue.

Listen: मेरा टूथब्रश नीला है।

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"Meraa ṭoothbrash neelaa hai" makes meraa and neelaa masculine to agree with the loanword. Neelaa is entirely dental and front, which throws the retroflex opening of ṭoothbrash into relief.

Where English speakers slip

The obvious temptation is to say the English word, supplying an alveolar t, a fricative th and a rhotic r. Hindi has changed all three. Curl the tongue for the first stop, make the th a full stop with a puff, and reduce the r to one contact.