Pronunciation

How to pronounce “east

“east” is pronounced /ist/ (EEST) in American English and /iːst/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “east” in one beat

Say it like this

east

/ist/

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

1 beat
  1. eastist
IPA (American)
/ist/
IPA (British)
/iːst/
Respelling
EEST
Syllables
1 — east
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ist/ 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ist/

British

/iːst/

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

Meaning

What “east” means

  1. noun

    the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees

  2. noun

    the countries of Asia

  3. noun

    the region of the United States lying to the north of the Ohio River and to the east of the Mississippi River

Say it in a sentence

The sun rises over the hills to the east.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

east”, answered

How do you pronounce “east”?

“east” is pronounced /ist/ (EEST) in American English and /iːst/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ist/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “east” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ist/ — a single beat.

Is “east” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ist/ (EEST); British English says /iːst/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “east” mean?

As a noun: the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees For example: “The sun rises over the hills to the east.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “east”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ist/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “east” 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.