How to pronounce birch
Say it like BURCH. Birch 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 birch. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- BURCH
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Birch pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- BURCHSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ur" in nurse.
American vs British pronunciation of birch
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: BURCH.
What does birch mean?
- hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood
- any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula having a thin peeling bark
- a switch consisting of a twig or a bundle of twigs from a birch tree; used to hit people as punishment“my father never spared the birch”
- whip with a birch twig
- consisting of or made of wood of the birch tree
Words that rhyme with birch
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of birch.
Questions about saying birch
How do you pronounce birch?
Say BURCH. The American pronunciation is /bɝtʃ/. In British English it is /bɜːtʃ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in birch?
Birch is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: BURCH.
Is birch pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /bɜːtʃ/ (BURCH).