How to pronounce “squirrel”
Say “squirrel” in 2 beats
squirrel
/ˈskwɝəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈskwɪɹəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- squirskwɝstress
- reləl
- IPA (American)
- /ˈskwɝəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈskwɪɹəl/
- Respelling
- SKWUR-uhl (UK SKWIRR-uhl)
- Syllables
- 2 — SQUIR-rel
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SQUIR-rel. “squir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈskwɝəl/
Often compressed to one and a half syllables: SKWURL.
/ˈskwɪɹəl/
Two clear syllables with the vowel of kit.
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “squirrel” goes wrong
- Often heard
“SKWEER-ul”
the vowel is the ur of fur in America, or the i of kit in Britain, never a long ee
What “squirrel” means
- noun
a kind of arboreal rodent having a long bushy tail
- noun
the fur of a squirrel
Say it in a sentence
“A squirrel buried something under the hedge and forgot where.”“squirrel”, answered
How do you pronounce “squirrel”?
“squirrel” is pronounced /ˈskwɝəl/ (SKWUR-uhl (UK SKWIRR-uhl)) in American English and /ˈskwɪɹəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “squir”. Build it as SQUIR-rel, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “squirrel” have?
2: squir · rel. The beat lands on the first, “squir”.
Is “squirrel” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈskwɝəl/ (SKWUR-uhl (UK SKWIRR-uhl)); British English says /ˈskwɪɹəl/. Two clear syllables with the vowel of kit. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “squirrel” mean?
As a noun: a kind of arboreal rodent having a long bushy tail For example: “A squirrel buried something under the hedge and forgot where.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “squirrel”?
Stress the first syllable: SQUIR-rel. “squir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “squirrel” 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.