These are the sounds that don't exist in English. Get these and your accent transforms. Read each one out loud a few times.
خ
kh
A raspy sound from the back of the throat, like the ‘ch’ in the Scottish “loch”. Not a hard k.
e.g. khush خوش (happy)
غ
gh
A gargled g, made where you gargle water. Similar to the French r.
e.g. ghazal غزل (a poem)
ق
q
A k formed deep in the throat, further back than the English k.
e.g. qalam قلم (pen)
ع
ain
A soft catch from the throat that colours the vowel next to it. Often heard as a gentle a/i.
e.g. ilm علم (knowledge)
ٹ ڈ ڑ
retroflex T · D · R
Curl your tongue back to the roof of the mouth. Harder and “rounder” than the English t, d, r.
e.g. tamaatar ٹماٹر (tomato)
بھ
aspirated bh
A puff of air right after the consonant. bh, ph, th, kh, dh all exist. bhai is not the same as bai.
e.g. bhai بھائی (brother)
ں
nasal (noon ghunna)
Send the vowel through your nose without fully pronouncing the n at the end.
e.g. nahi'n نہیں (no)
آ
long vs short vowels
Vowel length changes meaning: aa is held longer than a, ee longer than i, oo longer than u.
e.g. baat بات (talk / matter)
ر
rolled r
A single quick tap of the tongue, like the Spanish r in “pero”.
e.g. raat رات (night)