Pronunciation

How to pronounce “heavy

“heavy” is pronounced /ˈhɛvi/ (HE-vee) in American English and /hɛvi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “heav”.
The sound

Say “heavy” in 2 beats

Say it like this

heavy

/ˈhɛvi/

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

2 beats
  1. heavstress
  2. yvi
IPA (American)
/ˈhɛvi/
IPA (British)
/hɛvi/
Respelling
HE-vee
Syllables
2 — HEAV-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: HEAV-y. “heav” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
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

/ˈhɛvi/

British

/hɛvi/

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

Meaning

What “heavy” means

  1. noun

    an actor who plays villainous roles

  2. noun

    a serious (or tragic) role in a play

  3. adjective

    of comparatively great physical weight or density

    a heavy load

Say it in a sentence

The rain grew heavy just as they reached the car.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

heavy”, answered

How do you pronounce “heavy”?

“heavy” is pronounced /ˈhɛvi/ (HE-vee) in American English and /hɛvi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “heav”. Build it as HEAV-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “heavy” have?

2: heav · y. The beat lands on the first, “heav”.

Is “heavy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈhɛvi/ (HE-vee); British English says /hɛvi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “heavy” mean?

As a noun: an actor who plays villainous roles For example: “The rain grew heavy just as they reached the car.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “heavy”?

Stress the first syllable: HEAV-y. “heav” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “heavy” 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.