How to pronounce “quay”
Say “quay” in one beat
quay
/ki/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kiː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- quayki
- IPA (American)
- /ki/
- IPA (British)
- /kiː/
- Also accepted
- /keɪ/
- Respelling
- KEE
- Syllables
- 1 — quay
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ki/ 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
/ki/
/kiː/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “quay” goes wrong
- Often heard
“KWAY”
it sounds exactly like key
What “quay” means
- noun
wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline
Say it in a sentence
“Fishing boats tie up along the quay early every morning.”“quay”, answered
How do you pronounce “quay”?
“quay” is pronounced /ki/ (KEE) in American English and /kiː/ in British English, and /keɪ/ is also accepted — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ki/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “quay” have?
One, despite the 3 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ki/ — a single beat.
Is “quay” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ki/ (KEE); British English says /kiː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “quay” mean?
As a noun: wharf usually built parallel to the shoreline For example: “Fishing boats tie up along the quay early every morning.”
Where is the stress in “quay”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ki/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “quay” 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.