How to pronounce “three”
Say “three” in one beat
three
/θɹi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /θɹiː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- threeθɹi
- IPA (American)
- /θɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /θɹiː/
- Respelling
- THREE
- Syllables
- 1 — three
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /θɹi/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/θɹi/
/θɹiː/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “three” means
- noun
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
- noun
one of four playing cards in a deck having three pips
- adjective
being one more than two
Say it in a sentence
“Three of the windows were broken during the storm.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“three”, answered
How do you pronounce “three”?
“three” is pronounced /θɹi/ (THREE) in American English and /θɹiː/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /θɹi/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “three” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /θɹi/ — a single beat.
Is “three” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /θɹi/ (THREE); British English says /θɹiː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “three” mean?
As a noun: the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one For example: “Three of the windows were broken during the storm.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “three”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /θɹi/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “three” 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.