How to Pronounce Y

To pronounce "y", say Y — one syllable. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.

Tap to hear · American accent

Accent

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Speed

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Syllable

Letters

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

Sounds exactly like: why, wai, wye — easy to mix up when writing.

noun

(abstract) This place; this location.
“An Alzheimer patient's here may in his mind be anywhere he called home in the time he presently re-lives.”
(abstract) This time, the present situation.

adverb

For what cause, reason, or purpose (interrogative adverb).
For which cause, reason, or purpose (relative adverb).
“That's the reason why I did that.”

noun

A solar year, the time it takes the Earth to complete one revolution of the Sun (between 365.24 and 365.26 days depending on the point of reference).
“we moved to this town a year ago; I quit smoking exactly one year ago”
(by extension) The time it takes for any astronomical object (such as a planet, dwarf planet, small Solar System body, or comet) in direct orbit around a star (such as the Sun) to make one revolution around the star.
“Mars goes around the sun once in a Martian year, or 1.88 Earth years.”

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

Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.

How many syllables are in "y"?▾

"Y" has one syllable.

What does "y" mean?▾

Y: (abstract) This place; this location.

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