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How to pronounce scissors

Scissors is pronounced SIZ-erz in American English and SIZ-uhz in British English. It has two syllables with the stress on the first, and the sc is just an s. The middle sound is z.

Say it yourself
  • 2 syllables
  • Stress on SIZ
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

scissors

Two syllables, stress on the first

noun · a tool with two blades for cutting paper, cloth or hair

  1. SIZsɪz (stressed)
  2. erzɚz
  • US /ˈsɪz.ɚz/SIZ-erz Recorded voice
  • UK /ˈsɪz.əz/SIZ-uhz Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.

Scissors, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

US American English/ˈsɪz.ɚz/

  1. SIZstressed

    • /s/as in see
    • /ɪ/as in sit
    • /z/as in zoo

  2. erz

    • /ɚ/as in mother (US)
    • /z/as in zoo

UK British English/ˈsɪz.əz/

  1. SIZstressed

    • /s/as in see
    • /ɪ/as in sit
    • /z/as in zoo

  2. uhz

    • /ə/as in about
    • /z/as in zoo

Say scissors yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes scissors, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. The sc is just s. Say SIZ-erz, like sizzers. There is no k and no sh sound.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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scissors

    Common scissors pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say SIZ-erz.

    • NotSKIZ-erz

      Saying a k after the s. In scissors the c is silent.

    • NotSIS-erz

      Using a plain s in the middle. The ss in scissors is a z sound.

    • NotSHIZ-erz

      Changing sc to sh. It is a plain s.

    Scissors 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.

    • Can I borrow your scissors for a minute?

    • She cut the paper with a pair of scissors.

    • The scissors are in the top drawer.

    How do you say the c in scissors?

    You do not say it. The sc is just s, so the word starts like sit, not like sky and not like ship. The next sound is a z, written with ss, which is why the first syllable is SIZ.

    The word came from Old French cisoires, from a Latin word meaning cutting tools. The sc was added in the 1500s, influenced by a Latin word, scissor, meaning cutter. The sound did not change.

    The same sc = s happens in science, scene, scent and scissors. Finish with a z sound at the end too: scissors ends in z, not s. Treat it as a plural noun: a pair of scissors.

    Words that sound like scissors

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

    More words with silent letters

    All 170 difficult words

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