How to pronounce “dear”
Say “dear” in one beat
dear
/dɪɹ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /diə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- deardɪɹ
- IPA (American)
- /dɪɹ/
- IPA (British)
- /diə/
- Respelling
- DIR
- Syllables
- 1 — dear
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /dɪɹ/ 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
/dɪɹ/
/diə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “dear” means
- noun
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
- noun
a sweet innocent mild-mannered person (especially a child)
- adjective
dearly loved
Say it in a sentence
“She wrote a letter that began, dear grandmother, thank you.”“dear”, answered
How do you pronounce “dear”?
“dear” is pronounced /dɪɹ/ (DIR) in American English and /diə/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /dɪɹ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “dear” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /dɪɹ/ — a single beat.
Is “dear” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /dɪɹ/ (DIR); British English says /diə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “dear” mean?
As a noun: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment For example: “She wrote a letter that began, dear grandmother, thank you.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “dear”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /dɪɹ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “dear” 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.