How to pronounce “earlier”
Say “earlier” in 3 beats
earlier
/ˈɝliɚ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɜːlɪə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- ɝɝstress
- lili
- ɚɚ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈɝliɚ/
- IPA (British)
- /ɜːlɪə/
- Respelling
- UR-lee-uh
- Syllables
- 3 — ɝ-li-ɚ
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: ɝ-li-ɚ. “ɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈɝliɚ/
/ɜːlɪə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “earlier” means
- adjective
(comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early
“a fashion popular in earlier times”
- adjective
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
“early morning”
- adjective
being or occurring at an early stage of development
“in an early stage”
Say it in a sentence
“She left the office earlier than usual to catch the train.”“earlier”, answered
How do you pronounce “earlier”?
“earlier” is pronounced /ˈɝliɚ/ (UR-lee-uh) in American English and /ɜːlɪə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɝ”. Build it as ɝ-li-ɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “earlier” have?
3: ɝ · li · ɚ. The beat lands on the first, “ɝ”.
Is “earlier” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈɝliɚ/ (UR-lee-uh); British English says /ɜːlɪə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “earlier” mean?
As an adjective: (comparative and superlative of `early') more early than; most early For example: “a fashion popular in earlier times” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “earlier”?
Stress the first syllable: ɝ-li-ɚ. “ɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “earlier” 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.