How to pronounce daily in American English

IPA /ˈdeɪli/ Syllables 2 · day·lee Stress 1st syllable
DAY·lee
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Americans pronounce daily as DAY-lee (/ˈdeɪli/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Clarity
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Stress
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Intonation
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Fluency
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Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch DAY — keep everything else short and quick.

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In real conversation

Hear "daily" in the wild.

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"He lived off campus but came to school for classes daily."
hee LIHVD AHF KAM·puhs buht KAYM tuh SKOOL fer KLA·suhz DAY·lee
"He tracks his calories and macronutrients daily."
hee TRAKS hihz KA·luh·reez and ma·kroh·NOO·tree·uhnts DAY·lee
"I have been trying to get more exercise into my daily routine."
ahy hav bihn TRAHY·uhng tuh geht MOR EHK·ser·sahyz IHN·too mahy DAY·lee roo·TEEN
"Modern technology has changed our daily lives."
MAH·dern tehk·NAH·luh·jee huhz CHAYNJD ar DAY·lee LAHYVZ
"She has been meditating daily to improve her mental health."
shee huhz bihn MEH·duh·tay·duhng DAY·lee tuh uhm·PROOV her MEHN·tuhl HEHLTH
"She practices stretching daily to improve her flexibility and balance."
shee PRAK·tuh·suhz STREH·chuhng DAY·lee tuh uhm·PROOV her flehk·suh·BIH·luh·tee uhnd BA·luhns
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

01

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch DAY — keep everything else short and quick.

day·LEEDAY·lee
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "daily" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "DAY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "DAY-lee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "daily" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "DAY-lee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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