Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 220 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce library
/ˈlaɪbrəri/ British English
LY·brə·ree
3 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the first one.
✗ Many people say
li·BRA·ry
✓ Say
LY·brə·ree
My tip
Stress the start: LY-brə-ree. Don’t lose the first r!
In a sentence
Is the library open today?
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: LY-brə-ree.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce library?
In British English, library is pronounced /ˈlaɪbrəri/. Say it like this: LY-brə-ree. Stress the start: LY-brə-ree. Don’t lose the first r!
How many syllables are in library?
When you say it, library has 3 syllables: LY-brə-ree. The strong beat is the first one, LY.
More words like this: the stress trap
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: /aɪ/ as in “my”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Word stress setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
- More gamesFive of my English games are free to play.