How to pronounce “knee”
Say “knee” in one beat
knee
/ni/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /niː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kneeni
- IPA (American)
- /ni/
- IPA (British)
- /niː/
- Respelling
- NEE
- Syllables
- 1 — knee
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ni/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ni/
/niː/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “knee” goes wrong
- Often heard
“kuh-NEE”
the k is silent before n
What “knee” means
- noun
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
- noun
joint between the femur and tibia in a quadruped; corresponds to the human knee
- noun
the part of a trouser leg that provides the cloth covering for the knee
Say it in a sentence
“He hurt his knee playing football and missed the whole season.”“knee”, answered
How do you pronounce “knee”?
“knee” is pronounced /ni/ (NEE) in American English and /niː/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ni/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “knee” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ni/ — a single beat.
Is “knee” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ni/ (NEE); British English says /niː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “knee” mean?
As a noun: hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella For example: “He hurt his knee playing football and missed the whole season.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “knee”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ni/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “knee” 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.