How to pronounce pay in American English
PAY
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Americans pronounce pay as PAY (/peɪ/).
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"He was convicted of fraud and ordered to pay restitution."
hee wuhz kuhn·VIHK·tuhd uhv FRAHD and OR·derd tuh PAY rehs·tuh·TOO·shuhn
"Please pay the parking permit price promptly."
PLEEZ PAY dhuh PAR·kuhng PUR·muht PRAHYS PRAHMPT·lee
"The court order mandates that he pay full restitution."
dhuh KORT OR·der MAN·dayts dhuht hee PAY FUUL rehs·tuh·TOO·shuhn
"The court ordered him to pay child support every month."
dhuh KORT OR·derd hihm tuh PAY CHAHYLD suh·PORT EHV·ree muhnth
"You can pay with cash, a credit card, or a mobile app."
yoo kuhn PAY wihth KASH uh KREH·duht KARD or uh MOH·buhl AP
"Please pay the price."
PLEEZ PAY dhuh PRAHYS
Questions
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Is the American pronunciation of "pay" 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 "PAY" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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