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 “out-”
- out-tray noun(UK, Ireland) A desktop organizer; outbox.
- out-Herod verbTo surpass in evil and cruelty. [(originally and chiefly) with Herod]
- out-basket nounAlternative form of outbasket.
- out-and-out adjectiveComplete, utter.
- out-of-date adjectiveAlternative form of out of date.
- out-of-door adjectiveoutdoor
- out-of-town adjectiveAlternative form of out of town.
- out-of-doors adverb, noun, adjectiveoutdoors; outside.
- out-and-outer noun(informal, dated) A first-rate fellow.
- out-migration nounAlternative form of outmigration.
- out-of-bounds nounAlternative form of out of bounds.
- out-of-pocket adverb, adjectiveAlternative form of out of pocket.
- out-of-school adjectivenot attending school and therefore free to work
- out-of-the-way adjectiveRemote or secluded.
- out-of-body experience noun(parapsychology) An experience in which one feels outside of one’s body.
- about-face noun, verb(military) An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction.
- stout-billed adjectivehaving a strong beak
- stout-stemmed adjectivehaving a stout stem
- man-about-town nounAlternative form of man about town (“a worldly, social man”).