How to pronounce “near”
Say “near” in one beat
near
/nɪɹ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /niə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- nearnɪɹ
- IPA (American)
- /nɪɹ/
- IPA (British)
- /niə/
- Respelling
- NIR
- Syllables
- 1 — near
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /nɪɹ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/nɪɹ/
/niə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “near” means
- verb
move towards
“We were approaching our destination”
- adjective
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
“near neighbors”
- adjective
being on the left side
“the near or nigh horse is the one on the left”
Say it in a sentence
“The cabin sits near a quiet lake in the woods.”“near”, answered
How do you pronounce “near”?
“near” is pronounced /nɪɹ/ (NIR) in American English and /niə/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /nɪɹ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “near” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /nɪɹ/ — a single beat.
Is “near” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /nɪɹ/ (NIR); British English says /niə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “near” mean?
As a verb: move towards For example: “We were approaching our destination” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “near”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /nɪɹ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “near” 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.