How To Pronounce Murder

murder

Phonemic

/ˈmɜː.də/

Phonetic

[ˈmɜːʴ.dəʴ]

Phonemic

/ˈmɝː.dɚ/

In British English, murder is pronounced /ˈmɜː.də/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈmɜːʴ.dəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈmɝː.dɚ/.

Murder 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

mɜːdə

Murder 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.

murder + -s

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

/ˈmɜː.dəz/

/ˈmɝː.dɚz/

murder + -ed

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

/ˈmɜː.dəd/

/ˈmɝː.dɚd/

murder + -ing

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

/ˈmɜː.də.rɪŋ/

/ˈmɝː.dɚ.ɪŋ/

Words That Rhyme With Murder

girder

Questions About Murder

How do you pronounce murder in British English?

In British English, murder is pronounced /ˈmɜː.də/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈmɜːʴ.dəʴ].

How do you pronounce murder in American English?

In American English, murder is pronounced /ˈmɝː.dɚ/.

How many syllables are in murder?

Murder has two syllables, /mɜː/ + /də/.

Where is the stress in murder?

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

Do British and American English pronounce murder the same way?

No. British English has /ˈmɜː.də/ and American English has /ˈmɝː.dɚ/.

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Other Words With The Stress Pattern Oo

Nearby Words

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