How to pronounce “nearly”
Say “nearly” in 2 beats
nearly
/ˈnɪɹli/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /niəli/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- nearnɪɹstress
- lyli
- IPA (American)
- /ˈnɪɹli/
- IPA (British)
- /niəli/
- Respelling
- NIR-lee
- Syllables
- 2 — NEAR-ly
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: NEAR-ly. “near” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈnɪɹli/
/niəli/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “nearly” means
- adverb
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
“the job is (just) about done”
- adverb
in a close manner
“the two phenomena are intimately connected”
Say it in a sentence
“They nearly missed the train because of the traffic.”“nearly”, answered
How do you pronounce “nearly”?
“nearly” is pronounced /ˈnɪɹli/ (NIR-lee) in American English and /niəli/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “near”. Build it as NEAR-ly, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “nearly” have?
2: near · ly. The beat lands on the first, “near”.
Is “nearly” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈnɪɹli/ (NIR-lee); British English says /niəli/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “nearly” mean?
As an adverb: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but For example: “the job is (just) about done” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “nearly”?
Stress the first syllable: NEAR-ly. “near” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “nearly” 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.