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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “whistle”

“whistle” is pronounced /ˈwɪsəl/ (WISS-uhl), and /ˈhwɪsəl/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “whist”.
The sound

Say “whistle” in 2 beats

Say it like this

whistle

/ˈwɪsəl/

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

2 beats
  1. whistwɪstress
  2. lesəl
IPA (American)
/ˈwɪsəl/
IPA (British)
/ˈwɪsəl/
Also accepted
/ˈhwɪsəl/
Respelling
WISS-uhl
Syllables
2 — WHIST-le
Stress
Stress the first syllable: WHIST-le. “whist” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Watch out

Where “whistle” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “WHIST-ul”

    the t is silent: WISS-uhl

Meaning

What “whistle” means

  1. noun

    the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture

  2. noun

    the act of signalling (e.g., summoning) by whistling or blowing a whistle

    “the whistle signalled the end of the game”

  3. noun

    a small wind instrument that produces a whistling sound by blowing into it

Say it in a sentence

“The referee blew the whistle and the players stopped at once.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
wwɪshort issəschwall

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“whistle”, answered

How do you pronounce “whistle”?

“whistle” is pronounced /ˈwɪsəl/ (WISS-uhl), and /ˈhwɪsəl/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “whist”. Build it as WHIST-le, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “whistle” have?

2: whist · le. The beat lands on the first, “whist”.

Is “whistle” /ˈwɪsəl/ or /ˈhwɪsəl/?

Both. /ˈwɪsəl/ is the form dictionaries list first (WISS-uhl).

What does “whistle” mean?

As a noun: the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture For example: “The referee blew the whistle and the players stopped at once.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “whistle”?

Stress the first syllable: WHIST-le. “whist” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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