foreign
adjective · from, in or about another country
- FORfɔːr (stressed)
- unən
- FORfɒr (stressed)
- unən
- US /ˈfɔːr.ən/FOR-un Recorded voice
- UK /ˈfɒr.ən/FOR-un Your device’s voice
Also said: US /ˈfɑːr.ən/; UK /ˈfɒr.ɪn/.
How to pronounce foreign
Foreign is pronounced FOR-un in both American and British English. It has two syllables with the stress on the first. The G is silent and eign is only a weak un.
- 2 syllables
- Stress on FOR
- US and UK IPA
- Checked in Cambridge and Oxford
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge also lists /ˈfɑːr.ən/ for American English and /ˈfɒr.ɪn/ for British English. The recording is American English.
Foreign, sound by sound
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
US American English/ˈfɔːr.ən/
FORstressed
- /f/as in fall
- /ɔː/as in saw
- /r/as in red
un
- /ə/as in about
- /n/as in now
UK British English/ˈfɒr.ən/
FORstressed
- /f/as in fall
- /ɒ/as in hot (UK)
- /r/as in red
un
- /ə/as in about
- /n/as in now
Say foreign yourself
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Tip. The second syllable is a weak un, like the end of seven. The G is silent.
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Common foreign pronunciation mistakes
What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say FOR-un.
Not
for-AYNReading eign as in reign and stressing it. The stress is on the first syllable and the end is a weak un.
Not
FOR-ig-unSaying the G. It is silent: FOR-un.
Not
FOH-runUsing the oh of go. The first vowel is the or in for.
Foreign in a sentence
Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.
Do you speak any foreign languages?
Half of the students here are from foreign countries.
The idea was completely foreign to him.
Why is there a g in foreign?
The G was never said. English took the word from Old French forain, from Latin foras, outside. Middle English spelled it foreyn or forein, with no G at all.
Writers added the G later, perhaps to make it look like reign. Sovereign got the same added G. In reign the ending is a full AYN, but in foreign it is unstressed, so it shrinks to un.
There are small accent differences. Americans use the or vowel; some say FAH-run. In British English the first vowel is the short o of hot, and FOR-in is also heard. All of these keep the G silent.
Words that sound like foreign
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
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