Pronunciation

How to pronounce “clearly

“clearly” is pronounced /ˈklɪɹli/ (KLIR-lee) in American English and /kliəli/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “clear”.
The sound

Say “clearly” in 2 beats

Say it like this

clearly

/ˈklɪɹli/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kliəli/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. clearklɪɹstress
  2. lyli
IPA (American)
/ˈklɪɹli/
IPA (British)
/kliəli/
Respelling
KLIR-lee
Syllables
2 — CLEAR-ly
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CLEAR-ly. “clear” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
adverb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈklɪɹli/

British

/kliəli/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “clearly” means

  1. adverb

    without doubt or question

    they were clearly lost

  2. adverb

    in an intelligible manner

    the foreigner spoke to us quite intelligibly

  3. adverb

    clear to the mind; with distinct mental discernment

    it's distinctly possible

Say it in a sentence

She could clearly see the mountains from her window.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

clearly”, answered

How do you pronounce “clearly”?

“clearly” is pronounced /ˈklɪɹli/ (KLIR-lee) in American English and /kliəli/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “clear”. Build it as CLEAR-ly, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “clearly” have?

2: clear · ly. The beat lands on the first, “clear”.

Is “clearly” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈklɪɹli/ (KLIR-lee); British English says /kliəli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “clearly” mean?

As an adverb: without doubt or question For example: “they were clearly lost” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “clearly”?

Stress the first syllable: CLEAR-ly. “clear” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “clearly” 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.