Pronunciation

How to pronounce “issue

“issue” is pronounced /ˈɪʃu/ (I-shoo) in American English and /ɪʃuː/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “is”.
The sound

Say “issue” in 2 beats

Say it like this

issue

/ˈɪʃu/

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

2 beats
  1. isɪstress
  2. sueʃu
IPA (American)
/ˈɪʃu/
IPA (British)
/ɪʃuː/
Respelling
I-shoo
Syllables
2 — IS-sue
Stress
Stress the first syllable: IS-sue. “is” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɪʃu/

British

/ɪʃuː/

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

Meaning

What “issue” means

  1. noun

    an important question that is in dispute and must be settled

    the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone

  2. noun

    one of a series published periodically

    she found an old issue of the magazine in her dentist's waiting room

  3. noun

    some situation or event that is thought about

    he kept drifting off the topic

Say it in a sentence

Parking remains the one issue nobody can agree on.
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

issue”, answered

How do you pronounce “issue”?

“issue” is pronounced /ˈɪʃu/ (I-shoo) in American English and /ɪʃuː/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “is”. Build it as IS-sue, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “issue” have?

2: is · sue. The beat lands on the first, “is”.

Is “issue” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɪʃu/ (I-shoo); British English says /ɪʃuː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “issue” mean?

As a noun: an important question that is in dispute and must be settled For example: “the issue could be settled by requiring public education for everyone” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “issue”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “issue” 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.