Howjsay

Howjsay is a talking dictionary of English pronunciation. It allows you to easily check how words sound without learning any phonemic symbols. It uses audio of real speakers!

Key Features

  • Over 150,000 entries with approximately 250,000 spoken pronunciations
  • One-click access to fast, clear sounds
  • All pronunciations are carefully researched before inclusion
  • British English pronunciation with World English alternatives
  • British and American spellings
  • History feature allows you to browse previous entries
  • All sounds are authentic – no synthetic sounds are used
  • Same database as the world’s leading English pronunciation website, www.howjsay.com, with regular updates and addition of new topical words
  • Many foreign words, names of places, foods, people, etc.
  • A unique and valuable resource for both native and non-native speakers – speak with confidence and fluency!

How to Use It

Online version (free)

Enter the word on the website. The page will then show it in pink text and you can rest the mouse over the pink word to hear it pronounced.

(The page also shows links to google definitions and translation, using a new pop up window.)

Browser plugins (free)

In any webpage, you can select and right-click on a word to see a “Pronounce” option. Simply click on the “Pronounce” option and a new tab will open with the selected word entered into howjsay.com.

(Make sure your volume is not muted or too low. If you missed the pronunciation, you can hover-over the word on howjsay.com to have it pronounced again.)

iPhone and Android apps (roughly £2 each)

These apps let you enter a word in the app and hear it pronounced.

Why I Love Howjsay

HowJsay is simple, functional and easily accessed. I use it a lot to help my students with pronunciation.

Quick Tip

Try using Howjsay if you are giving a presentation and need to use some words that you have only ever seen in print.