Pronunciation

How to pronounce “left

“left” is pronounced /lɛft/ (LEFT) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “left” in one beat

Say it like this

left

/lɛft/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. leftlɛft
IPA (American)
/lɛft/
IPA (British)
/lɛft/
Respelling
LEFT
Syllables
1 — left
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /lɛft/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective, adverb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “left” means

  1. noun

    location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east

    she stood on the left

  2. noun

    those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare

  3. noun

    the hand that is on the left side of the body

    jab with your left

Say it in a sentence

Only a handful of tickets are left for tonight's show.
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

left”, answered

How do you pronounce “left”?

“left” is pronounced /lɛft/ (LEFT) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /lɛft/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “left” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /lɛft/ — a single beat.

What does “left” mean?

As a noun: location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east For example: “she stood on the left” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “left”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “left” 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.