Macquarie Dictionary

or

Pronunciation Key

Vowels

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
i as in ‘peat’ Pronunciation of peat  pit ee
ʊ as in ‘put’ Pronunciation of put pʊt oo
ɪ as in ‘pit’ Pronunciation of pit pɪt i
u as in ‘pool’ Pronunciation of pool pul ooh
ɛ as in ‘pet’ Pronunciation of pet pɛt e
ɜ as in ‘pert’ Pronunciation of pert pɜt er
æ as in ‘pat’ Pronunciation of pat pæt a
ə as in ‘apart’ Pronunciation of apart ə’pat uh
a as in ‘part’ Pronunciation of part pat ah
ɒ as in ‘pot’ Pronunciation of pot pɒt o
ʌ as in ‘putt’ Pronunciation of putt pʌt u
ɔ as in ‘port’ Pronunciation of port pɔt aw
æ̃ as in French ‘vin’ væ̃ an
y as in French ‘rue’ ry ooh
ɒ̃ as in ‘bon voyage’ Pronunciation of bon voyage bɒ̃ vwaˈjaʒ on

Diphthongs

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
aɪ as in ‘buy’ Pronunciation of buy baɪ uy
eɪ as in ‘bay’ Pronunciation of bay beɪ ay
ɔɪ as in ‘boy’ Pronunciation of boy bɔɪ oy
aʊ as in ‘how’ Pronunciation of how haʊ ow
oʊ as in ‘hoe’ Pronunciation of hoe hoʊ oh
ɪə as in ‘here’ Pronunciation of here hɪə ear
ɛə as in ‘hair’ Pronunciation of hair hɛə air
ʊə as in ‘tour’ Pronunciation of tour tʊə oouh

Consonants

Plosives

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
p as in ‘pet’ Pronunciation of pet pɛt p
b as in ‘bet’ Pronunciation of bet bɛt b
t as in ‘tale’ Pronunciation of tale teɪl t
d as in ‘dale’ Pronunciation of dale deɪl d
k as in ‘came’ Pronunciation of came keɪm k
ɡ as in ‘game’ Pronunciation of game ɡeɪm g

Fricatives

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
f as in ‘fine’ Pronunciation of fine faɪn f
v as in ‘vine’ Pronunciation of vine vaɪn v
θ as in ‘thin’ Pronunciation of thin θɪn th
ð as in ‘then’ Pronunciation of then ðɛn dh
s as in ‘seal’ Pronunciation of seal sil s
z as in ‘zeal’ Pronunciation of zeal zil z
ʃ as in ‘show’ Pronunciation of show ʃoʊ sh
ʒ as in ‘measure’ Pronunciation of measure ‘mɛʒə zh
h as in ‘heal’ Pronunciation of heal hil h
r as in ‘real’ Pronunciation of real ril r

Affricates

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
tʃ as in ‘choke’ Pronunciation of choke tʃoʊk ch
dʒ as in ‘joke’ Pronunciation of joke dʒoʊk j

Nasals

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
m as in ‘mail’ Pronunciation of mail meɪl m
n as in ‘nail’ Pronunciation of nail neɪl n
ŋ as in ‘sing’ Pronunciation of sing sɪŋ ng

Semi-vowels

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
j as in ‘you’ Pronunciation of you ju y
w as in ‘woo’ Pronunciation of woo wu w

Laterals

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example ‘say’ pronunciation
l as in ‘last’ Pronunciation of last last l

Stress

Primary stress:

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example
ˈ as in ‘clatter’ Pronunciation of clatter ˈklætə

Secondary stress:

Symbol Pronunciation Listen Example
ˌ as in ‘encyclopedia’ Pronunciation of encyclopedia ɛnˌsɑɪkləˈpidiə
Macquarie Dictionary acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, and the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work.
We pay respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Please be aware that names or images of the deceased may appear on this website.

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