How to pronounce “queen”
Say “queen” in one beat
queen
/kwin/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kwiːn/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- queenkwin
- IPA (American)
- /kwin/
- IPA (British)
- /kwiːn/
- Respelling
- KWEEN
- Syllables
- 1 — queen
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kwin/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/kwin/
/kwiːn/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “queen” means
- noun
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
- noun
a female sovereign ruler
- noun
the wife or widow of a king
Say it in a sentence
“The queen inspected the guard before the ceremony began.”“queen”, answered
How do you pronounce “queen”?
“queen” is pronounced /kwin/ (KWEEN) in American English and /kwiːn/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kwin/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “queen” have?
One, despite the 3 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /kwin/ — a single beat.
Is “queen” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /kwin/ (KWEEN); British English says /kwiːn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “queen” mean?
As a noun: the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs For example: “The queen inspected the guard before the ceremony began.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “queen”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kwin/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “queen” 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.