How to pronounce “dire”
Say “dire” in 2 beats
dire
/ˈdaɪɚ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈdaɪə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- dirdaɪstress
- eɚ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈdaɪɚ/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈdaɪə/
- Respelling
- DY-ur
- Syllables
- 2 — DIR-e
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: DIR-e. “dir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈdaɪɚ/
/ˈdaɪə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “dire” goes wrong
- Often heard
“DEER”
the vowel is the one in eye, followed by a light -ur
What “dire” means
- adjective
fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; ; - G.C.Marshall
“a desperate illness”
- adjective
causing fear or dread or terror
“the awful war”
Say it in a sentence
“The roof was in a dire state after two wet winters.”“dire”, answered
How do you pronounce “dire”?
“dire” is pronounced /ˈdaɪɚ/ (DY-ur) in American English and /ˈdaɪə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “dir”. Build it as DIR-e, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “dire” have?
2: dir · e. The beat lands on the first, “dir”.
Is “dire” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈdaɪɚ/ (DY-ur); British English says /ˈdaɪə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “dire” mean?
As an adjective: fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless; ; - G.C.Marshall For example: “a desperate illness” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “dire”?
Stress the first syllable: DIR-e. “dir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “dire” 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.