The /eə/ Diphthong (SQUARE)
/eə/
/eə/ is a centring diphthong. The tongue glides from /e/ towards /ə/ within one syllable.
Example Words
| Word | UK | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| hair | /heə/ | /her/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| there | /ðeə/ | /ðer/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
| square | /skweə/ | /skwer/ | Syllables · Pronounce |
Allophones Of /eə/
/eə/ has 1 allophone in the app, starting with [eəʴ], 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 /eə/ Sound
/eə/ At The Start Of A Word
/eə/ In The Middle Of A Word
- nary
- vary
- wary
- bairn
- dairy
- fairy
- hairy
- scary
- barely
- fairly
- parent
- rarely
- rarity
- scarce
- scared
- stairs
- theirs
- varies
- careful
- glaring
- haircut
- malaria
- prairie
- various
- varying
- whereas
- agrarian
- aquarium
- bearable
- careless
/eə/ At The End Of A Word
- bare
- bear
- care
- dare
- fair
- fare
- hair
- lair
- mare
- pair
- pare
- pear
- rare
- wear
- yeah
- aware
- blare
- chair
- flare
- glare
- mayor
- scare
- share
- snare
- spare
- stair
- stare
- swear
- affair
- impair
Minimal Pairs
Questions Students Ask
What kind of diphthong is /eə/?
/eə/ is a centring diphthong. The tongue glides from /e/ towards /ə/ within one syllable.
Which words have the /eə/ sound?
For example hair, there, square.