How to pronounce “birth”
Say “birth” in one beat
birth
/bɝθ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /bɜːθ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- birthbɝθ
- IPA (American)
- /bɝθ/
- IPA (British)
- /bɜːθ/
- Respelling
- BURTH
- Syllables
- 1 — birth
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /bɝθ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/bɝθ/
/bɜːθ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “birth” means
- noun
the time when something begins (especially life)
“they divorced after the birth of the child”
- noun
the event of being born
“they celebrated the birth of their first child”
- noun
the process of giving birth
Say it in a sentence
“She gave birth to twins early on a Sunday morning.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“birth”, answered
How do you pronounce “birth”?
“birth” is pronounced /bɝθ/ (BURTH) in American English and /bɜːθ/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /bɝθ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “birth” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /bɝθ/ — a single beat.
Is “birth” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /bɝθ/ (BURTH); British English says /bɜːθ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “birth” mean?
As a noun: the time when something begins (especially life) For example: “they divorced after the birth of the child” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “birth”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /bɝθ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “birth” 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.