Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings
Vowels
| iː | see | ɪ | sit | e / ɛ | bed | æ | cat |
| ɑː | father | ɒ | hot (UK) | ɔː | law | ʊ | put |
| uː | too | ʌ | cup | ɜː | bird | ə | about |
| eɪ | day | aɪ | my | ɔɪ | boy | aʊ | now |
| əʊ / oʊ | go (UK / US) | ɪə | near | eə | hair | ʊə | tour |
Consonants that look unusual
| θ | thin | ð | this | ʃ | she | ʒ | measure |
| tʃ | church | dʒ | judge | ŋ | sing | j | yes |
p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.
Marks
- ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
- ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)
Common word endings
- -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
- -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
- -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
- Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
- Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.
English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences
Results for “hern”
- hernia noun(pathology) A disorder in which a part of the body protrudes abnormally through a tear or opening in an adjacent part, especially of the ab…
- hernaria nounlow-growing Old World herbs with minute bright green leaves
- herniation nounThe formation of a hernia.
- cithern nounArchaic form of cittern.
- zithern nounA zither
- ethernet proper noun, nounA set of network cabling and network access (CSMA/CD) protocol standards for bus topology computer networks invented by Xerox but now contr…
- leathern adjective(dated) Made of leather.
- northern adjective, noun, proper nounOf, facing, situated in, or related to the north; northerly.
- southern adjective, noun, proper nounOf, facing, situated in, or related to the south.
- Chernobyl proper noun, nounA partially abandoned city and ghost town in northern Ukraine, known as the site of a nuclear disaster.
- otherness noun(uncountable) The quality of being different or distinct.
- northerner nounA native or inhabitant of the north of a region (or of the world as a whole), such as one of the northern United States, the north of Norwa…
- southerner nounA native or inhabitant of the south of a region (or of the world as a whole), such as the United Kingdom.
- leatherneck noun(slang) A soldier.
- southernism nounAnything characteristic of the southern part of a region, especially the southern United States.
- northernmost adjectiveFarthest north.
- northernness nounThe state or quality of being northern.
- southernmost adjectiveFarthest south.
- southernness nounthe state or quality of being southern
- southernwood nounAn aromatic shrub, Artemisia abrotanum, related to wormwood.
- togetherness noun(uncountable) The state or quality of being together.
- hiatus hernia noun(pathology) A protrusion of part of the upper stomach into the thorax
- northern pike nounA species of pike, Esox lucius.
- paraphernalia nounMiscellaneous items, especially the set of equipment required for a particular activity.
- Northern Cross proper noun(astronomy) A summer asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a cross. It includes the stars Deneb and Albireo.
- southern beech nounAny of several trees or shrubs of the genus Nothofagus native to South America and Australasia.
- Southern Cross proper noun(astronomy) A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross, which appears in the flags of several countries in…
- Northern Europe proper nounA sociopolitical region of Europe including such countries as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- northern lights nounThe aurora of the northern hemisphere.
- northern oriole noun(archaic) A vernacular name applied to all members of Icterus galbula when that species name included both the eastern Baltimore oriole (no…
- northern shrike nounLanius borealis, a large songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to North America and Siberia.
- southern lights nounThe aurora of the southern hemisphere.
- northern harrier nounCircus hudsonius, native to most of North America and Central America
- Northern Ireland proper nounA constituent country and province of the United Kingdom, situated in the northeastern part of the island of Ireland.
- northern red oak nounthe red oak, Quercus rubra.
- northern whiting nounA fish of species Sillago sihama.
- Southern Baptist nounA member of a particular Baptist denomination based in the United States.
- southern cypress nounSynonym of bald cypress.
- umbilical hernia noun(pathology) A hernia at the site of the umbilicus (navel).
- northern bobwhite nounA bird of the species Colinus virginianus, native to eastern North America.
- Northern Marianas proper nounEllipsis of Northern Mariana Islands.
- Northern Rhodesia proper noun(historical) A former protectorate of the United Kingdom, existing from 1911 to 1964, now called Zambia.
- southern magnolia nounA large, striking evergreen tree of species Magnolia grandiflora, found in the southeastern United States.
- Southern Rhodesia proper noun(historical) A former colony of the United Kingdom; a name used to refer to the area now called Zimbabwe, officially introduced in 1901. A …
- northern snakehead nounA fish of species Channa argus, native to Russia, China and Korea; considered to be invasive in the United States.
- Northern Territory proper nounA territory covering northern and north-central Australia. Capital: Darwin.
- northern hemisphere noun, proper nounUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see northern, hemisphere.
- southern hemisphere noun, proper nounUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see southern, hemisphere.
- northern bog lemming nounA small North American lemming, Synaptomys borealis.
- southern yellow pine noun(US) A classification of lumber, widely used in construction in much of the US, from any of several species of genus Pinus grown in the sou…
- northern cricket frog nounAcris crepitans, a small frog of the hylid family, native to most of the eastern and central contiguous United States and the northeast bor…
- northern storm petrel nounA seabird belonging to the family Hydrobatidae.
- Northern Mariana Islands proper nounAn archipelago, commonwealth and dependent territory (technically, an unincorporated territory) of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. …
- southern flying squirrel nounA nocturnal omnivorous squirrel Glaucomys volans of eastern North America and Central America that glides between trees.
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland proper nounOfficial name of the United Kingdom: a country in Northern Europe.