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How to pronounce the Tibetan “Ka”

The very first letter of the alphabet — and the mouth shape that makes it sound just right.

ཀ is the first letter of the Tibetan alphabet, and the first sound most new learners get slightly wrong. The trick is aspiration — the little puff of air that follows some consonants and not others.

ཀ (ka) is unaspirated: no puff of air, closer to the “k” in the English word “skate” than the “k” in “kite”. Its look-alike cousin ཁ (kha) is aspirated — say it with a clear puff of breath, almost like clearing your throat gently on the consonant.

Tibetan groups these two sounds with two more made in exactly the same place — the back of the mouth — to form the alphabet’s first row.