Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

new

/nu/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.25 in modern English

Syllables
new
IPA
/nu/
6
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Recently made, or created.

adj

Recently made, or created.

adj

Newborn.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English neowe, neue, new, newe, nywe, from Old English nēowe, nīewe, nīowe, nīwe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz (“new”), from Proto-Indo-European *néwos, *néwyos (“new”). Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo, novuss, and neo-. Cognates Cognate with Scots new (“new”), North Frisian nai, nei, nii (“new”), Saterland Frisian näi (“new”), West Frisian nij (“new”), Alemannic German nöi, nüüw (“new”), Bavarian neich (“new”), Cimbrian naüge (“new”), Dutch nieuw, nij (“new”), Dutch Low Saxon nij (“new”), German neu, new, neuw (“new”), Low German nee, neei (“new”), Luxembourgish nei (“new”), Vilamovian noj, noü (“new”), Yiddish נײַ (nay, “new”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ny (“new”), Faroese nýggjur (“new”), Icelandic nýr (“new”), Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌹𐍃 (niujis, “new”); also Breton nevez (“new”), Cornish nowydh, nowyth (“fresh, new”), Irish nua, nuadh (“new”), Manx noa (“fresh, new”), Scottish Gaelic nuadh (“fresh, new”), Welsh newydd (“new”), Latin novus (“new”), Greek νέος (néos, “young, youthful; modern, new”), Lithuanian naũjas (“new”), Belarusian но́вы (nóvy, “new”), Bulgarian and Macedonian нов (nov, “new”), Czech and Slovak nový (“new”), Polish nowy (“new”), Russian но́вый (nóvyj, “new”), Serbo-Croatian но̏в, nȍv (“new”), Slovene nov (“new”), Ukrainian нови́й (novýj, “new”), Armenian նոր (nor, “new”), Baluchi نوک (nok, “new”), Central Kurdish نوێ (nwê, “new”), Ossetian нӕуӕг (næwæg), ног (nog, “fresh, new; young”), Persian نو (naw / now, “new”), Mazanderani نو (nu, “new”), Northern Kurdish nû (“new”), Pashto نوی (nëway, “new”), Zazaki newe (“new”), Kamkata-viri nuy, nuyĩ (“new”), Prasuni unü (“new”), Hittite 𒉋𒀸 (nēwas, “fresh, new”), Luwian 𒈾𒀀𒌑𒉿𒋾 (nāúwati, “new”), Tocharian A ñu (“new”), Tocharian B ñuwe (“new”), Sanskrit नव (nava, “fresh, modern, new”), नव्य (navya, “new”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: neowe, nēowe, *niwi, *niwjaz, *néwos, atten

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /nu/
  • British English: /njuː/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce new?
The recorded pronunciation is /nu/.
What does new mean?
Recently made, or created.
Where does new come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce new

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “new”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/nu/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “new”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “new” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.