This article deals with the acoustical and perceptual importance of F0 perturbations in word-initial breathy CV syllables of Hindi. The first part is devoted to the acoustical analysis of F0 onset, F0 trajectory, average F0 of the breathy and steady portion, and duration of the breathy portion. It is concluded from the results that (i) F0 perturbations are a function of the place of articulation of the stop and/or tongue height and/or tongue position of the vowel; (ii) F0 onset reflects the larynx height and/or the activity of extrinsic larynx muscles, and (iii) the F0 trajectory represents the coarticulatory processes within the syllable. The importance of F0 onset, F0 trajectory, average F0, and duration of the breathy portion for the perception of breathy stops is examined in the second part of this study. It is shown, for 8 CV conditions /É–ha É–he É–hi É–ho É–hu bhi dhi ghi/ that F0 onset, F0 trajectory, and the duration of the breathy portion play an important role in the perception of breathy CV syll