25 Hard English Words for Hindi Speakers
English is the most widely spoken language globally, acting as a universal means of communication. In India, Hindi and English are the official languages used in both professional and casual scenes. However, for many Hindi speakers, the fluent pronunciation of certain English words is a barrier to optimizing the language. These pronunciation difficulties often stem from contrasting speech structure, unique grammar rules, speech rhythm, and stress patterns.
It's important to know that while you might spell words correctly, how you pronounce a foreign language can disrupt communication. Clear speech is important for building social bonds, sounding confident in conversation, and making a good impression as a professional.
In this article we'll address some of the hard English words for Hindi speakers in terms of pronunciation. We will also show you tips for tackling and articulating these sounds to help improve your American English accent.
These difficult English words for Hindi speakers may appear ordinary, especially since we use them in everyday sentences. However, they have tricky nuances and sounds that make them easy to mispronounce for native Hindi speakers.
1. These /ðiːz/
This word refers to things close to you. "These" is tricky for Hindi speakers because of its initial voiced dental fricative /ð/, a sound absent in Hindi. Instead, it is common for native Hindi speakers to say "teez," substituting /ð/ with the closest Hindi sound, "t."
Pronouncing /ð/ involves creating a vibration between the tongue and the upper front teeth. Place your tongue between your front teeth and gently exhale to make this sound, making sure to also incorporate a vibration of the vocal cords.
2. Gratitude /ɡrætɪtuːd/
The word "gratitude" throws Hindi speakers a curveball with its stress pattern. This word generally means "the feeling of being thankful." Indian languages tend to have a more even stress distribution across syllables compared to English, where stress patterns depend on the word.
In "gratitude," Hindi speakers place the stress on the second syllable, saying it more like "grat-I-tude." To pronounce this word correctly, emphasize the first syllable and say "GRAT-i-tude" instead.
3. Think /θɪŋk/
Thinking is the act of using one’s mind to critically consider something. This word is one of the most difficult English words for non native speakers because the /θ/ sound is nonexistent in many languages. Hindi speakers often replace this sound with t or s, hence pronouncing think as "tink" or "sink."
To pronounce the /θ/ sound, position your tongue between your upper and lower front teeth. Next, allow a small amount of air to pass through the gap and produce an unvoiced, soft sound.
4. Thank /θæŋk/
Meaning "to express gratitude," "thank" is one of the hard English words for Hindi speakers because of the /θ/ and short /æ/ sounds. They sometimes pronounce the word as "tank" or "thang." Since we already described how to voice ‘th,’ we will focus on the /æ/ sound.
Open your mouth moderately, position your tongue low and towards the front, and produce a short, relaxed sound resembling "a.”
5. Those /ðoʊz/
Like "these," this word, meaning "things further away," is difficult because of the initial /ð/ sound. Hindi speakers might substitute the word ‘those’ with "dose," adopting the d pronunciation.
Note also that the "s" in "those" is correctly pronounced as a "z" sound rather than a true "s."
6. Noisy /nɔɪzi/
In Hindi, they pronounce the word noisy as शोरगुल or shor-gul and it means to make a lot of noise. However, it is one of the hardest words for Hindi speakers to say in English. They sometimes pronounce it as "no-zee," simplifying the diphthong "oi" to a more straightforward "o" sound.
The ideal "oi" sound in noise starts with rounded lips and a mid-open tongue position for the "ɔ" sound. Next, swiftly transition to the short "ɪ" sound. This sound is also present in oil, boy, and toy.
7. Soldier /soʊlʤər/
A soldier is a person who serves in an army. This word is one of the hardest English words for Hindi speakers to pronounce because of the "dʒ" sound in the final syllable. They often end up replacing the "dʒ" sound with ‘j’. This often results in a pronunciation closer to "soljer" when Hindu natives say the word.
To pronounce the /dʒ/ sound place your tongue against your upper front teeth, then build up pressure and release it. Next, create a narrow gap and release the voiced postalveolar fricative sound, as in words like "measure."
8. Tell /tɛl/
Many Indians tend to pronounce the word "tell" as "tale" due to the absence of the /ɛ/ sound in their native language. "Tell" refers to the act of speaking to someone and giving them information, while a "tale" is a story.
To pronounce the short /ɛ/ sound as in the word "tell," open your mouth moderately and position your tongue lower and towards the front. Next, produce a brief "eh" sound without rounding your lips.
9. Wine /waɪn/
The notorious W-V mixup comes into play when many Indians try to pronounce ‘wine.’ This is a result of the absence of the "w" sound in Hindi, which leads to a pronunciation closer to "vine."
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes and it is one of the hard English words for Hindi speakers. To pronounce the "w" in "wine," round your lips and create a narrow gap. Also, engage your vocal cords, release air gently through the rounded gap, and voice the sound.
10. Coat /koʊt/
This word, meaning an outer garment, makes our list of the hardest English words to pronounce for Hindi speakers. This is because of the long /oʊ/ diphthong present in the word. Hindi speakers might pronounce “coat" as "kote," replacing the oa with a simpler o in Hindi pronunciation.
The correct pronunciation involves rounding your lips for the long o and sustaining it before voicing the t sound.
11. Dorm /dɔːrm/
A dorm is a room for sleeping in a boarding school or college. This word has a long /ɔː/ diphthong and many times, Hindu speakers shorten the sound, pronouncing the word "dawm."
English speakers pronounce the /ɔː/ sound by rounding their lips, opening their mouth moderately, and placing the tongue in a central position. The goal is to produce a long, sustained sound.
12. Mate /meɪt/
In the word "mate," we find another diphthong—the /eɪ/ diphthong. Since diphthongs pose a challenge for Hindi speakers, they would naturally simplify "mate" into "met." In English, "mate" means friend or companion, and "met" means to have encountered someone or something.
To accurately pronounce the /eɪ/ diphthong, begin by opening your mouth moderately, producing the "eh" sound. Then, seamlessly transition into the "ay" sound without any interruption. Ensure your mouth maintains a slightly open position for optimal clarity.
13. House /haʊs/
A house is a building for human habitation. Hindi speakers may occasionally replace the English voiceless "s" sound with the voiced "z" sound. This is because they do not have the distinction between the two sounds in their native language. "House" is one of the hard English words for Hindi speakers and their final pronunciation is often "houz."
To correctly pronounce the "s" sound, place the tip of your tongue close to the upper front teeth, create a narrow gap for airflow, and produce a crisp, unvoiced hissing sound. Ensure your vocal cords remain relaxed and do not vibrate during the pronunciation.
Note that when the word "house" is a noun, it should be pronounced with a voiceless "s" sound. However, when used as a verb (as in, to "house" somebody), that "s" sound becomes a "z" sound.
14. Street /striːt/
Hindi does not have as many consonant clusters as English does, and as a result Hindi speakers are not accustomed to pronouncing them. The "str" sound in "street" may hence come forth as "stureet" or "sturet" in some cases.
Articulating English consonant clusters involves smoothly linking individual sounds. For the "str" sound in "street," practice transitioning from "s" to "t," and finally "r."
15. Water /wɔːdər/
Hindi speakers might pronounce "water" as "vader" due to the W-V mixup. Words like water, wine, and west, containing the ‘w’ sound, constitute many of the hard English words for Hindi speakers.
16. Sheep /ʃiːp/
Minimal pairs tend to pose some sort of problem for people learning English. Not knowing when to use /i:/ or /i/ sounds is the reason why Hindi speakers might pronounce sheep as "ship." A sheep is a domesticated ruminant mammal and it requires the sustained or elongated "ee" sound to achieve correct pronunciation.
17. West /wɛst/
"West" signifies the direction of sunset, opposite east. The common reality is that Hindu speakers pronounce the word as "vest" instead. Practice the "w" sound described earlier to properly pronounce this word.
18. Sue (suː)
To "sue" means to take legal action against someone. Hindi speakers might substitute the long "u" sound with a simpler "o," thereby pronouncing it as "su." To produce a sustained "oo" sound, round your lips significantly and drag the sound a little longer.
19. Pat (pæt)
The Hindi native language does not typically use aspiration, as found in the word "pat." Aspiration refers to a puff of air released after a consonant sound; this is often present in English but absent in Hindi. Therefore, "pat" may sometimes sound like ‘bat.'
To correctly pronounce "pat," focus on pushing a small burst of air out of your mouth after you form the "p" sound. "Pat" generally means to lightly tap or stroke something.
20. Caught (kɔːt)
Just like in the word "dorm," the /ɔː/ sound poses a challenge in caught. "Caught" means to be captured or apprehended.
Hindi speakers might pronounce it in a way that sounds like "kot" as they try to simplify the /ɔː/ sound.
21. Pool (puːl)
This word means a small body of water. Like many words beginning with an aspirated p sound, we consider "pool" a hard English word for Hindi speakers. They will often pronounce the word "pool" as "bool" instead since they are unfamiliar with aspirations. To overcome this challenge, master aspirations, as in the word "pat" described earlier.
22. Ferrari /fəˈrɑːri/
This is one of the hard words for Hindi speakers to say in English because it features multiple "r" sounds. Hindi "r" is a quick flap sound pronounced when the tongue’s tip touches the roof of the mouth, whereas in American English, "r" is a continuous sound where the tip of the tongue does not touch the roof of the mouth.
To achieve the American "r," focus on raising the tip of your tongue towards the alveolar without touching it. Aim for a narrower channel for the air to flow, creating a more fricative sound. Finally, remember to sustain the sound for the entire syllable.
23. Black /blæk/
Hindi speakers often add vowels in between consonant clusters when speaking English. This is their approach to making seemingly difficult sounds like consonant clusters easier to pronounce.
"Black," which typically means the absence of light and color, therefore becomes "bu-lack." When pronouncing words with a consonant cluster, try slowing down your speech for a smooth transition between each sound.
24. Progressive /prəgrɛsɪv/
Indians tend to stress the first syllable of the word "progressive," pronouncing it as "PRO-gress-ive." This pronunciation differs from American English, which stresses the second syllable as pro-GRESS-ive."
"Progressive" means constantly improving on something. When pronouncing this word, be conscious about stressing the second syllable.
25. Bin /bɪn/
Usually, the "b" sound in "bin" is aspirated, giving the word a sharper and more forceful quality. However, Hindi speakers sometimes mistake this sound for the aspirated "p," thereby pronouncing it as "pin." A bin is a container for waste. To pronounce "b," bring your lips together, create a voiced bilabial closure, and release it abruptly.
How to Articulate Hard English Words for Hindi Speakers
From the list above, we find that the hardest English words for Hindi speakers are, in fact, everyday words. What may appear as subtle errors in pronunciation can be overlooked and can have a tendency to disrupt the true meaning of words. For example, "mate" and "met" or "bin" and "pin." To master English pronunciation, Hindi speakers must embrace the challenges and deeply understand the nuances of the American English language and pronunciation patterns.
Listening to and mimicking a native English speaker can refine pronunciation skills and simplify hard English words for Hindi speakers. Also, consider engaging in activities like tongue twisters, practicing minimal pairs, seeking feedback from accent experts , and leveraging online resources.
For targeted improvement, use the BoldVoice app , a comprehensive tool designed to help you overcome pronunciation barriers. Here, you get exercises tailored to your learning needs, real-time feedback, and accent coaching lessons from Hollywood speech experts. Begin your journey towards confident and precise pronunciation right away.
