How do you recognise a Indian accent?

Retroflex T and D — the tongue curls back against the roof of the mouth. Syllable-timed rhythm with even stress. Steady “face” and “goat” vowels: “go” without a glide. Established Indian English vocabulary: “prepone”, “lakh”, “do the needful”.

Which famous people have a Indian accent?

Shah Rukh Khan is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the Delhi Indian English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Indian accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Delhi Indian English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Delhi, North India and the Indian subcontinent

The Indian accent

Indian English is spoken by more people than the English of England, and it has its own established standards rather than being a deviation from British English. Its consonants are retroflex — the tongue curls back for T and D — and it is syllable-timed, giving it an even rhythm that stress-timed varieties hear as fast. Vowels in “face” and “goat” stay steady rather than gliding.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Indian accent

Retroflex T and D — the tongue curls back against the roof of the mouth.
Syllable-timed rhythm with even stress.
Steady “face” and “goat” vowels: “go” without a glide.
Established Indian English vocabulary: “prepone”, “lakh”, “do the needful”.

Also known as Indian accent, Indian English, Delhi accent, South Asian English. Spoken in Delhi, North India and the Indian subcontinent.

The Indian pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Indian speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the broad vowel of “father”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” is one flat sound — deh
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” is one flat sound — gaw
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “tyoon”, with a Y sound after the T
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T, or “three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start alike
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
an R made by tapping or rolling the tongue, or a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Delhi, North India and the Indian subcontinent

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Indian speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soft drink
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	French fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Sweets
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Trolley
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Parcel
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	You all
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Dustbin
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic signal
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Roundabout
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use
Can you “prepone” a meeting — bring it forward to an earlier time?	Yes — “prepone” is a normal word
Does “I am coming tomorrow only” sound like a normal way to emphasise tomorrow?	No — it sounds incomplete or wrong

Speakers with a Indian accent

Shah Rukh Khan
Delhi, India
A Delhi Indian-English reference profile; Khan grew up in New Delhi.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.