Pronunciation

How to pronounce “rely

“rely” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlaɪ/ (ri-LY) in American English and /ɹɪlaɪ/ in British English, and /ɹiˈlaɪ/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “y”.
The sound

Say “rely” in 2 beats

Say it like this

rely

/ɹɪˈlaɪ/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪlaɪ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. relɹɪ
  2. ylaɪstress
IPA (American)
/ɹɪˈlaɪ/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪlaɪ/
Also accepted
/ɹiˈlaɪ/
Respelling
ri-LY
Syllables
2 — rel-Y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: rel-Y. “y” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɹɪˈlaɪ/

British

/ɹɪlaɪ/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “rely” means

  1. verb

    have confidence or faith in

    We can trust in God

Say it in a sentence

We rely on the postman for most of our news.
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

rely”, answered

How do you pronounce “rely”?

“rely” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlaɪ/ (ri-LY) in American English and /ɹɪlaɪ/ in British English, and /ɹiˈlaɪ/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “y”. Build it as rel-Y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “rely” have?

2: rel · y. The beat lands on the second, “y”.

Is “rely” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈlaɪ/ (ri-LY); British English says /ɹɪlaɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “rely” mean?

As a verb: have confidence or faith in For example: “We can trust in God”

Where is the stress in “rely”?

Stress the second syllable: rel-Y. “y” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “rely” 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.