How to pronounce “bad”
Say “bad” in one beat
bad
/bæd/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /bad/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- badbæd
- IPA (American)
- /bæd/
- IPA (British)
- /bad/
- Respelling
- BAD
- Syllables
- 1 — bad
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /bæd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/bæd/
/bad/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “bad” means
- noun
that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency
“take the bad with the good”
- adjective
having undesirable or negative qualities
“a bad report card”
- adjective
very intense
“a bad headache”
Say it in a sentence
“The traffic on the highway was really bad this morning.”“bad”, answered
How do you pronounce “bad”?
“bad” is pronounced /bæd/ (BAD) in American English and /bad/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /bæd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “bad” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /bæd/ — a single beat.
Is “bad” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /bæd/ (BAD); British English says /bad/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “bad” mean?
As a noun: that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency For example: “take the bad with the good” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “bad”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /bæd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “bad” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.