How To Pronounce Clean
clean
UK
Phonemic
/kliːn/
Phonetic
[kl̥ĩːn]
US
Phonemic
/kliːn/
In British English, clean is pronounced /kliːn/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [kl̥ĩːn]. In American English, it is pronounced /kliːn/.
Clean has one syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.
Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.
Syllables, Stress And Endings
Syllables And Stress
kliːn
Clean has one syllable in British English.
clean + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/kliːnz/
US
/kliːnz/
clean + -ed
-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/kliːnd/
US
/kliːnd/
clean + -ing
-ing is always /ɪŋ/.
UK
/ˈkliː.nɪŋ/
US
/ˈkliː.nɪŋ/
clean + -er
-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English.
UK
/ˈkliː.nə/
US
/ˈkliː.nɚ/
clean + -est
-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/.
UK
/ˈkliː.nɪst/
US
/ˈkliː.nɪst/
Words That Rhyme With Clean
Questions About Clean
How do you pronounce clean in British English?
In British English, clean is pronounced /kliːn/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [kl̥ĩːn].
How do you pronounce clean in American English?
In American English, clean is pronounced /kliːn/.
Do British and American English pronounce clean the same way?
Yes. Both are /kliːn/.
Nearby Words
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