WORD STUDY
How to pronounce world /wɜːld/
World is one syllable with a hard ending: /w/, the vowel in bird, then /ld/. Learn the American and British forms and how to stop it from splitting.
Broad IPA phonetic notation · general American / British
US /wərld/ · UK /wɜːld/Syllables: 1
How to read these pronunciations
One reference reading per word and accent. Words such as read and wind can have other readings; this lookup does not choose by sentence meaning. Synthesized speech may use a different reading.
American results use dictionary respelling, as in ber. British results use broad IPA, as in /beə/. The sound chart and IPA lessons teach IPA separately. ˈ marks main stress and ˌ secondary stress; single-syllable words omit them.
American respelling key
- a
- cat
- ā
- day
- ä
- father
- e
- bed
- ē
- see
- i
- sit
- ī
- my
- ō
- go
- ô
- law
- o͞o
- food
- o͝o
- foot
- oi
- boy
- ou
- now
- ə
- cup, about
- ər
- bird, teacher
- er
- bear
- ir
- hear
- CH
- chip
- j
- jump
- SH
- ship
- ZH
- vision
- TH
- thin
- T͟H
- this
- NG
- sing
- y
- yes
Independently converted open dictionary data, using Oxford-style notation conventions. Not Oxford or Google dictionary content, and not affiliated with either publisher. Conversion does not verify every word or reproduce a particular dictionary edition.
Sources, conversion rules and licenses · US MIT · UK GPL-3.0
Try it in a word
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Voice
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Optional eSpeak NG: a mechanical voice generated on your device. It downloads from this site only when you choose it. Available for American and British English.
eSpeak NG · GPL-3.0 · SourceMeaning
The Earth and everything on it.
Letters or after w give the vowel in bird, not the vowel in door. The cluster /ld/ needs the tongue tip to stay on the ridge from /l/ into /d/. American speakers also add r color in the vowel, so the word moves through /ɝ/, /l/ and /d/ in one beat.
Your practice sequence
- Say were, as a starting point for /w/ and the vowel.
- Add a dark /l/, then press the tongue tip firmly for /d/.
- Say “around the world” in one smooth phrase.
People travel around the world.
Build the sound, step by step
Find each sound in the phonetics chart, then return here to practise it inside the word.
Explore the sound chart ↗Published 3 November 2026