How to pronounce “survey”
“survey” is said two ways
/ˈsɝˌveɪ/
SUR-vay
The questionnaire or the land report. Beat on SUR.
/sɚˈveɪ/
sur-VAY
To look over, or to measure land. Beat on VAY.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “They survey the site on Monday and publish the survey in June.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “survey” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “survey” in 2 beats
survey
/ˈsɝˌveɪ/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /sɚˈveɪ/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈsɜːveɪ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- sursɝstress
- veyveɪ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈsɝˌveɪ/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈsɜːveɪ/
- Respelling
- SUR-vay (noun) · sur-VAY (verb)
- Syllables
- 2 — SUR-vey
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SUR-vey. “sur” 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
This is the noun form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ˈsɝˌveɪ/
/ˈsɜːveɪ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “survey” goes wrong
- Often heard
“fill in this sur-VAY”
the questionnaire is SUR-vay; sur-VAY is the act of looking
What “survey” means
- noun
a detailed critical inspection
- noun
short descriptive summary (of events)
- noun
the act of looking or seeing or observing
“he tried to get a better view of it”
Say it in a sentence
“They survey the site on Monday and publish the survey in June.”“survey”, answered
How do you pronounce “survey”?
“survey” has two pronunciations: /ˈsɝˌveɪ/ as a noun and /sɚˈveɪ/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as SUR-vey, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “survey” have?
2: sur · vey. The beat lands on the first, “sur”.
Which pronunciation of “survey” is correct?
Both are. /ˈsɝˌveɪ/ (SUR-vay) as a noun; /sɚˈveɪ/ (sur-VAY) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “They survey the site on Monday and publish the survey in June.”
Is “survey” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈsɝˌveɪ/ (SUR-vay); British English says /ˈsɜːveɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “survey” mean?
As a noun: a detailed critical inspection For example: “They survey the site on Monday and publish the survey in June.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “survey”?
Stress the first syllable: SUR-vey. “sur” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “survey” 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.