How To Pronounce Dirty

dirty

Phonemic

/ˈdɜː.ti/

Phonetic

[ˈdɜːʴ.ti]

Phonemic

/ˈdɝː.t̯i/

In British English, dirty is pronounced /ˈdɜː.ti/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈdɜːʴ.ti]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈdɝː.t̯i/.

Dirty has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

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

dɜːti

Dirty has two syllables in British English, and the main stress is on the first syllable, shown in colour above. Its stress pattern is Oo, where O is the stressed syllable.

dirty + -s

-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/ˈdɜː.tiz/

/ˈdɝː.t̯iz/

dirty + -ed

-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/ˈdɜː.tid/

/ˈdɝː.t̯id/

dirty + -ing

-ing is always /ɪŋ/.

/ˈdɜː.ti.ɪŋ/

/ˈdɝː.t̯i.ɪŋ/

dirty + -er

-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English.

/ˈdɜː.ti.ə/

/ˈdɝː.t̯i.ɚ/

dirty + -est

-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/.

/ˈdɜː.ti.ɪst/

/ˈdɝː.t̯i.ɪst/

Words That Rhyme With Dirty

thirty

Questions About Dirty

How do you pronounce dirty in British English?

In British English, dirty is pronounced /ˈdɜː.ti/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈdɜːʴ.ti].

How do you pronounce dirty in American English?

In American English, dirty is pronounced /ˈdɝː.t̯i/.

How many syllables are in dirty?

Dirty has two syllables, /dɜː/ + /ti/.

Where is the stress in dirty?

The main stress is on the first syllable, /dɜː/.

Do British and American English pronounce dirty the same way?

No. British English has /ˈdɜː.ti/ and American English has /ˈdɝː.t̯i/.

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Other Words With The Stress Pattern Oo

Nearby Words

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