Pronunciation

How to pronounce “lady

“lady” is pronounced /ˈleɪdi/ (LAY-dee) in American English and /leɪdi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lad”.
The sound

Say “lady” in 2 beats

Say it like this

lady

/ˈleɪdi/

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

2 beats
  1. ladleɪstress
  2. ydi
IPA (American)
/ˈleɪdi/
IPA (British)
/leɪdi/
Respelling
LAY-dee
Syllables
2 — LAD-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: LAD-y. “lad” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈleɪdi/

British

/leɪdi/

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

Meaning

What “lady” means

  1. noun

    a polite name for any woman

    a nice lady at the library helped me

  2. noun

    a woman of refinement

    a chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady

  3. noun

    a woman of the peerage in Britain

Say it in a sentence

The elderly lady fed the pigeons every morning in the park.
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

lady”, answered

How do you pronounce “lady”?

“lady” is pronounced /ˈleɪdi/ (LAY-dee) in American English and /leɪdi/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lad”. Build it as LAD-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “lady” have?

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

Is “lady” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈleɪdi/ (LAY-dee); British English says /leɪdi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “lady” mean?

As a noun: a polite name for any woman For example: “a nice lady at the library helped me” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “lady”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “lady” 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.