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