How to pronounce ale
Say it like AYL. Ale is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce ale. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- AYL
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Ale pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- AYLSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ay" in day.
American vs British pronunciation of ale
American and British speakers say ale in essentially the same way: /eɪl/ in the US and /eɪl/ in the UK.
British respelling: AYL.
What does ale mean?
- a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume
Where does ale come from?
From Middle English ale, from Old English ealu, ealo, from Proto-West Germanic *alu, from Proto-Germanic *alu (compare Dutch aal, Icelandic and Swedish öl (“beer”), Danish, Faroese, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk øl (“beer”)), from
Words that rhyme with ale
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of ale.
Questions about saying ale
How do you pronounce ale?
Say AYL. The American pronunciation is /eɪl/. In British English it is /eɪl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in ale?
Ale is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: AYL.
Do Americans and Brits say ale the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /eɪl/ and the British form is /eɪl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.