Pronunciation
How to pronounce “early”
“early” is pronounced /ɜːli/ — 2 syllables.
The sound
Say “early”
early
/ɜːli/
Say it right
2 syllables. Stress the 'ear' part (say it longer and louder) and let the others relax — unstressed vowels often soften to a lazy /ə/.Meaning
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
“early morning”
This entry is generated live and has not been through our editorial check yet, so it carries no British transcription and no mistake notes. Browse the checked dictionary.
Practise this word
Now say “early” yourself
Record it and sayit shows you exactly which sounds landed and which to fix — free, private, in your browser.