Schwa, The /ə/ Sound
/ə/
/ə/ is a central half-open unrounded vowel. It is a short monophthong, the weak central vowel heard only in unstressed syllables, so it keeps one steady quality.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| about | /əˈbaʊt/ | /əˈbaʊt/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| teacher | /ˈtiː.tʃə/ | /ˈtiː.tʃɚ/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| sofa | /ˈsəʊ.fə/ | /ˈsoʊ.fə/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Distinctive Features
/ə/ is told apart from every other English sound by five distinctive features.
Allophones Of /ə/
/ə/ has 2 allophones in the app, starting with [əʴ], after the vowel wherever the spelling has a post-vocalic r. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.
Words With The /ə/ Sound
/ə/ At The Start Of A Word
- ago
- amid
- away
- awry
- obey
- upon
- abate
- abide
- abode
- abort
- about
- above
- acute
- adapt
- adept
- admit
- adopt
- adore
- adorn
- adult
- again
- agree
- ahead
- alarm
- alert
- align
- alike
- alive
- allot
- allow
/ə/ In The Middle Of A Word
- hmm
- able
- atom
- axle
- bias
- dial
- diet
- duel
- even
- evil
- fuel
- idle
- idol
- iron
- item
- lion
- ogle
- omen
- opal
- open
- oral
- ours
- oval
- oven
- riot
- vial
- agent
- agony
- album
- alias
/ə/ At The End Of A Word
- era
- via
- acre
- area
- cola
- data
- ever
- feta
- fire
- hire
- hour
- lava
- ogre
- okra
- over
- pupa
- pyre
- saga
- sire
- soda
- sofa
- sour
- suya
- tire
- tuna
- tyre
- user
- wire
- yoga
- actor
Questions Students Ask
How do you describe the vowel /ə/?
/ə/ is a central half-open unrounded vowel.
Which words have the /ə/ sound?
For example about, teacher, sofa.