/ə/

short vowel

The Schwa Sound

as in about

How to make the /ə/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Relax everything — jaw, lips, tongue.
  2. 2Make the smallest, laziest vowel possible: "uh".
  3. 3Use it in almost every unstressed syllable of English.

⚠ The most common mistake

Pronouncing unstressed vowels fully ("cho-co-late" with three clear Os) — the #1 giveaway of a non-native accent.

Especially tricky for speakers of: Spanish, Italian, Hindi, Japanese, Arabic.

Practice: Record & Compare

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

Practice words with /ə/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

More short vowels

See all 44 sounds of English →