How to pronounce shallow
Say it like SHAL-oh. Shallow has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (SHAL).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce shallow. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SHAL
- oh
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Shallow pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SHALSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "a" in cat.
- ohKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "o" in go.
American vs British pronunciation of shallow
- The long o starts further forward in British English, closer to "uh-oo" than the American "oh".
British respelling: SHAL-oh.
What does shallow mean?
- lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center“shallow water”“a shallow dish”
- not deep or strong; not affecting one deeply“shallow breathing”“a night of shallow fretful sleep”
- lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious“shallow people”“his arguments seemed shallow and tedious”
- a stretch of shallow water
- make shallow“The silt shallowed the canal”
- become shallow“the lake shallowed over time”
Where does shallow come from?
From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, dry out”).
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with shallow
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of shallow.
Questions about saying shallow
How do you pronounce shallow?
Say SHAL-oh. The American pronunciation is /ˈʃæloʊ/. In British English it is /ˈʃæləʊ/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in shallow?
Shallow has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (SHAL). Broken into parts: SHAL · oh.
Is shallow 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 /ˈʃæləʊ/ (SHAL-oh).