How to pronounce safe in American English

IPA /seɪf/ Syllables 1 · sayf Stress 1st syllable

SAYF

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Americans pronounce safe as SAYF (/seɪf/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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"She keeps all her important legal documents in a fireproof safe."

shee KEEPS AHL her uhm·POR·tuhnt LEE·guhl DAH·kyuh·muhnts ihn uh FAHY·er·proof SAYF

"The main aim of the game is to stay safe."

dhuh MAYN AYM uhv dhuh GAYM ihz tuh STAY SAYF

"The silo stores grain to keep it dry and safe."

dhuh SAHY·loh STORZ GRAYN tuh KEEP iht DRAHY and SAYF

Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "safe" 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 "SAYF" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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