Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

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

“Bu” is a form of

boo

/buː/ interjection, noun, verb, proper noun

Forms boos booing booed Woo Wu Bu Pu de Boo deBoo

  1. interjection A loud exclamation intended to scare someone. Usually used when one has been hidden from the target, and then appears unexpectedly.
  2. interjection An exclamation used by a member of an audience, as at a stage play or sporting event, to indicate derision or disapproval.
  3. noun A derisive shout of the word 'boo' made to indicate disapproval.
  4. verb (intransitive) To shout extended boos derisively. “When he took the podium, the crowd booed.”
  5. verb (transitive) To shout extended boos at, as a form of disapproval or derision. “The protesters loudly booed the visiting senator.”
  6. noun (US, Canada, African-American Vernacular, slang) A close acquaintance or significant other.
  7. noun (slang) Cannabis.
  8. verb (now rare, Northern England, intransitive) To make a sound characteristic of cattle; to moo.
  9. noun A tail feather from an ostrich.
  10. proper noun A community in Nacka, Stockholm, central Sweden.
  11. proper noun A surname from Swedish
  12. proper noun (linguistics) The Boko language.
  13. proper noun A surname from Chinese
  14. proper noun A surname from Korean
  15. proper noun A surname from Dutch

Synonyms

hoot badger barrack gird heckle jeer roast taunt tease bhang benj broccoli bud buddha cannabis cheeba choof daccha dank devil's lettuce Bronx cheer hiss raspberry razzing razz snort bird

Antonyms

cheer acclaim acclamate applaud hail barrack beclap cheer on clap encheer hurrah hurray

Etymology

From earlier (15c.) boh, coined to create a loud and startling sound. Compare Middle English bus! (“bang!”, interjection), Latin boō (“cry aloud, roar, shout”, verb), Ancient Greek βοάω (boáō, “shout”, verb).

From beau, from French beau. First appears c. 1988 in the Washington Post: See the cite below.

Of unknown origin, possibly from boojum, from a fancied resemblance of the plants. First appears c. 1959 in Esquire Magazine.

Likely onomatopoeic.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “boo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details