The /ɪə/ Diphthong (NEAR)
/ɪə/
/ɪə/ is a centring diphthong. The tongue glides from /ɪ/ towards /ə/ within one syllable.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| near | /nɪə/ | /nɪr/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| here | /hɪə/ | /hɪr/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| idea | /aɪˈdɪə/ | /aɪˈdiː.ə/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Allophones Of /ɪə/
/ɪə/ has 1 allophone in the app, starting with [ɪəʴ], 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 /ɪə/ Sound
/ɪə/ At The Start Of A Word
/ɪə/ In The Middle Of A Word
- hero
- real
- zero
- beard
- ideal
- weary
- weird
- cereal
- cheers
- fierce
- heroes
- merely
- nearby
- nearer
- nearly
- period
- pierce
- really
- serial
- series
- theory
- yearly
- hearing
- nearest
- nirvana
- realise
- realism
- realist
- serious
- theatre
/ɪə/ At The End Of A Word
- beer
- dear
- deer
- emir
- fear
- gear
- hear
- here
- idea
- jeer
- leer
- mere
- near
- peer
- rear
- sear
- veer
- year
- cheer
- clear
- queer
- sheer
- smear
- sneer
- spear
- steer
- adhere
- appear
- career
- revere
Minimal Pairs
Questions Students Ask
What kind of diphthong is /ɪə/?
/ɪə/ is a centring diphthong. The tongue glides from /ɪ/ towards /ə/ within one syllable.
Which words have the /ɪə/ sound?
For example near, here, idea.