How to Pronounce Early

To pronounce "early", say EARLY — one syllable, IPA /ˈɜː.li/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.

early

Tap to hear · American accent

Accent

If an accent sounds the same, your device is missing that voice — it falls back to the closest one.

Speed

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying early, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

1

Syllable

5

Letters

/ˈɜː.li/

IPA

💡 Tip for remembering “early”

"early" is a single-syllable word — say it in one clean beat. It rhymes with surly and girly, if that helps it stick.

Sounds exactly like: earlie, earley, erly — easy to mix up when writing.

What does early mean?

noun

  1. A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.

adjective

  1. At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

    “at eleven, we went for an early lunch;  she began reading at an early age;  his mother suffered an early death”

  2. Arriving a time before expected; sooner than on time.

    “The early guests sipped their punch and avoided each other's eyes.”

adverb

  1. At a time before expected; sooner than usual.

    “We finished the project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.”

  2. Soon; in good time; seasonably.

Synonyms

firstprematureprematurely

Antonyms

lateterminaltardily

Hear “early” in real sentences

Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.

Words that rhyme with early

Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.

surlygirlyburlygirliecurlypearlytwirlyhurlyburleyshirleyswirlybirley

Related words

prematureimmaturepreviousbeforehandfutureformerpastproto

Frequently asked questions

How many syllables are in "early"?▾

"Early" has one syllable.

What is the IPA transcription of "early"?▾

The IPA transcription of "early" is /ˈɜː.li/.

What does "early" mean?▾

Early: A shift (scheduled work period) that takes place early in the day.

Want the definition, translations into 8 languages, and read-aloud for full sentences?

Open “early” in the full dictionary →