Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sign

“sign” is pronounced /saɪn/ (SYN) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “sign” in one beat

Say it like this

sign

/saɪn/

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

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

What “sign” means

  1. noun

    a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)

    he showed signs of strain

  2. noun

    a public display of a message

    he posted signs in all the shop windows

  3. noun

    any nonverbal action or gesture that encodes a message

    signals from the boat suddenly stopped

Say it in a sentence

Please sign the form at the bottom of the second page.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

sign”, answered

How do you pronounce “sign”?

“sign” is pronounced /saɪn/ (SYN) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /saɪn/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “sign” have?

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

What does “sign” mean?

As a noun: a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened) For example: “he showed signs of strain” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “sign”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “sign” 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.