Key to pronunciations (US English dictionary)

A simple respelling system is used to show how entries are pronounced.

The letters b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, and z have their usual English values.

Other symbols are used as follows:

Consonants

respelling symbol		Example
g	as in	get
CH		chip
j		jar
KH		loch
NG		ring
TH		thin
TH		this
SH		she
ZH		decision
y		yes
(h)w		when

Vowels

respelling symbol		Example
a	as in	cat
e		bed
ə		ago, run, person
i		sit
i		cosy
ä		hot, arm
		put, poor
e(ə)r		hair
ē		see
ô		saw
		too
ī		my
ou		how
ā		day
ō		no
i(ə)r		near
oi		boy
œ (foreign)	as in	Goethe, French boeuf
ʏ (foreign)		Utrecht, French rue.
N (foreign)		Does not represent a separate sound; it indicates that the preceding vowel is nasalised, as in French bon.

 

In multisyllable words the symbol ˈ is used to show that the following syllable is stressed, as in /kəˈbäl/ the symbol ˌ indicates a secondary stress, as in /ˌkæləˈbrēs/.