How to pronounce phone
Say it like FOHN. Phone 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 phone. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- FOHN
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Phone pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- FOHNSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "o" in go.
American vs British pronunciation of phone
- The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh".
British respelling: FOHN.
What does phone mean?
- electronic equipment that converts sound into electrical signals that can be transmitted over distances and then converts received signals back into sounds“I talked to him on the telephone”
- (phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language
- electro-acoustic transducer for converting electric signals into sounds; it is held over or inserted into the ear“it was not the typing but the earphones that she disliked”
- get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone“I tried to call you all night”“Take two aspirin and call me in the morning”
Where does phone come from?
Clipping of telephone; first attested in 1884.
Similar and opposite words
Similar meaning
Words that rhyme with phone
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of phone.
Questions about saying phone
How do you pronounce phone?
Say FOHN. The American pronunciation is /foʊn/. In British English it is /fəʊn/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in phone?
Phone is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: FOHN.
Is phone pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh". The British form is /fəʊn/ (FOHN).