Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 431 of 545 · Animals, nature and weather
How to pronounce butterfly
/ˈbʌtəflaɪ/ British English
BUT·ə·fly
3 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the first one.
✗ Many people say
BOO·ter·fly
✓ Say
BUT·ə·fly
My tip
Stress the start, and the r is silent: BUT-ə-fly.
In a sentence
A butterfly landed on my hand.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: BUT-ə-fly.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce butterfly?
In British English, butterfly is pronounced /ˈbʌtəflaɪ/. Say it like this: BUT-ə-fly. Stress the start, and the r is silent: BUT-ə-fly.
How many syllables are in butterfly?
When you say it, butterfly has 3 syllables: BUT-ə-fly. The strong beat is the first one, BUT.
More words like this: animals, nature and weather
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /ʌ/ as in “cup”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
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