Pronunciation

How to pronounce “shift

“shift” is pronounced /ʃɪft/ (SHIFT) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “shift” in one beat

Say it like this

shift

/ʃɪft/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. shiftʃɪft
IPA (American)
/ʃɪft/
IPA (British)
/ʃɪft/
Respelling
SHIFT
Syllables
1 — shift
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ʃɪft/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “shift” means

  1. noun

    an event in which something is displaced without rotation

  2. noun

    a qualitative change

  3. noun

    the time period during which you are at work

Say it in a sentence

A slight shift in the ground cracked the back wall.
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

shift”, answered

How do you pronounce “shift”?

“shift” is pronounced /ʃɪft/ (SHIFT) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ʃɪft/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “shift” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ʃɪft/ — a single beat.

What does “shift” mean?

As a noun: an event in which something is displaced without rotation For example: “A slight shift in the ground cracked the back wall.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “shift”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ʃɪft/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “shift” 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.