How To Pronounce Tear
tear
stress changesVerb (rip)
UK
Phonemic
/teə/
Phonetic
[tʰeəʴ]
US
Phonemic
/ter/
Noun (from the eye)
UK
Phonemic
/tɪə/
Phonetic
[tʰɪəʴ]
US
Phonemic
/tɪr/
Tear has more than one pronunciation, depending on how it is used.
Verb (rip). It is /teə/ in British English and /ter/ in American English.
Noun (from the eye). It is /tɪə/ in British English and /tɪr/ in American English.
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 (Verb (rip))
teə
Tear has one syllable in British English.
tear + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/teəz/
US
/terz/
tear + -ed
-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/teəd/
US
/terd/
tear + -ing
-ing is always /ɪŋ/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.
UK
/ˈteə.rɪŋ/
US
/ˈter.ɪŋ/
Syllables And Stress (Noun (from the eye))
tɪə
Tear has one syllable in British English.
from the eye + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.
UK
/tɪəz/
US
/tɪrz/
Words That Rhyme With Tear
Questions About Tear
How do you pronounce tear in British English?
Verb (rip), /teə/. Noun (from the eye), /tɪə/.
How do you pronounce tear in American English?
Verb (rip), /ter/. Noun (from the eye), /tɪr/.
More Words Where The Stress Changes
Nearby Words
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