/ə/as in “about”

Vowel

How to pronounce /ə/ in English

The /ə/ sound is a mid, relaxed, central vowel.

  • Central
  • Unstressed
  • Schwa

Note: This vowel sound only occurs in unstressed syllables.

Example words

Common mistakes

Weak forms

  • "to" was said in full. In the middle of a sentence it is a quick [tə].

How to practise

  1. Small words — a, the, to, of, for, and, can, from, them — are said very lightly when they are not stressed, with a short "uh".
  2. "a cup of tea" sounds like [ə ˈkʌp əv ˈtiː]: only "cup" and "tea" are strong.
  3. The same goes for unstressed syllables: "about" is [əˈbaʊt].

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