How To Pronounce Spare

spare

Phonemic

/speə/

Phonetic

[speəʴ]

Phonemic

/sper/

In British English, spare is pronounced /speə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [speəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /sper/.

Spare 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

speə

Spare has one syllable in British English.

spare + -s

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

/speəz/

/sperz/

spare + -ed

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

/speəd/

/sperd/

spare + -ing

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

/ˈspeə.rɪŋ/

/ˈsper.ɪŋ/

spare + -er

-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈspeə.rə/

/ˈsper.ɚ/

spare + -est

-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈspeə.rɪst/

/ˈsper.ɪst/

Words That Rhyme With Spare

Questions About Spare

How do you pronounce spare in British English?

In British English, spare is pronounced /speə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [speəʴ].

How do you pronounce spare in American English?

In American English, spare is pronounced /sper/.

Do British and American English pronounce spare the same way?

No. British English has /speə/ and American English has /sper/.

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