How to pronounce “return”
Say “return” in 2 beats
return
/ɹɪˈtɝn/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪtɜːn/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- retɹɪ
- urntɝnstress
- IPA (American)
- /ɹɪˈtɝn/
- IPA (British)
- /ɹɪtɜːn/
- Also accepted
- /ɹiˈtɝn/
- Respelling
- ri-TURN
- Syllables
- 2 — ret-URN
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ret-URN. “urn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ɹɪˈtɝn/
/ɹɪtɜːn/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “return” means
- noun
document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability
“his gross income was enough that he had to file a tax return”
- noun
a coming to or returning home
“on his return from Australia we gave him a welcoming party”
- noun
the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction
Say it in a sentence
“She promised to return the borrowed book by Friday.”“return”, answered
How do you pronounce “return”?
“return” is pronounced /ɹɪˈtɝn/ (ri-TURN) in American English and /ɹɪtɜːn/ in British English, and /ɹiˈtɝn/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “urn”. Build it as ret-URN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “return” have?
2: ret · urn. The beat lands on the second, “urn”.
Is “return” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈtɝn/ (ri-TURN); British English says /ɹɪtɜːn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “return” mean?
As a noun: document giving the tax collector information about the taxpayer's tax liability For example: “his gross income was enough that he had to file a tax return” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “return”?
Stress the second syllable: ret-URN. “urn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “return” 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.