How To Pronounce Fire

fire

Phonemic

/faɪə/or/ˈfaɪ.ə/

Phonetic

[faɪəʴ]

Phonemic

/faɪr/

In British English, fire is pronounced /faɪə/ or /ˈfaɪ.ə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [faɪəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /faɪr/.

Fire has one 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

faɪə

Fire has one syllable in British English.

fire + -s

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

/faɪəz/or/ˈfaɪ.əz/

/faɪrz/

fire + -ed

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

/faɪəd/or/ˈfaɪ.əd/

/faɪrd/

fire + -ing

-ing is always /ɪŋ/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈfaɪə.rɪŋ/or/ˈfaɪ.ər.ɪŋ/

/ˈfaɪr.ɪŋ/

Words That Rhyme With Fire

Questions About Fire

How do you pronounce fire in British English?

In British English, fire is pronounced /faɪə/ or /ˈfaɪ.ə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [faɪəʴ].

How do you pronounce fire in American English?

In American English, fire is pronounced /faɪr/.

Do British and American English pronounce fire the same way?

No. British English has /faɪə/ and American English has /faɪr/.

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