How To Pronounce Free
free
UK
Phonemic
/friː/
Phonetic
[fr̥iː]
US
Phonemic
/friː/
In British English, free is pronounced /friː/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [fr̥iː]. In American English, it is pronounced /friː/.
Free 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
friː
Free has one syllable in British English.
free + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/friːz/
US
/friːz/
free + -ed
-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/friːd/
US
/friːd/
free + -ing
-ing is always /ɪŋ/.
UK
/ˈfriː.ɪŋ/
US
/ˈfriː.ɪŋ/
free + -er
-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English.
UK
/ˈfriː.ə/
US
/ˈfriː.ɚ/
free + -est
-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/.
UK
/ˈfriː.ɪst/
US
/ˈfriː.ɪst/
Words That Rhyme With Free
Questions About Free
How do you pronounce free in British English?
In British English, free is pronounced /friː/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [fr̥iː].
How do you pronounce free in American English?
In American English, free is pronounced /friː/.
Do British and American English pronounce free the same way?
Yes. Both are /friː/.
Nearby Words
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