Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sahara

/səˈhɛɹə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

Syllables: Sa-har-a
IPA: /səˈhɛɹə/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A desert mostly in North Africa and the largest hot desert in the world.

Example Sentences

"[…] he nevertheless assures us that if it were not for imperialism we should already be able to irrigate the Sahara and the Gobi desert, and turn Siberia and the Antarctic into pleasure resorts, at the cost of 'a few hundredweight of uranium and thorium'."

Etymology

From Arabic صَحَارَى (ṣaḥārā, “deserts”).

Origin

Source language: Arabic

Word Breakdown

Root: صَحَارَى, ص ح ر

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /səˈhɛɹə/
British English: /səˈhɑːɹə/

Inflected Forms

the Sahara (canonical) Zaara (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

Saharan Saharic

Phrases

Sahara pump theory Saharo- sub-Sahara

Frequently Paired Words

Nubian Desert

Synonyms

Zaara

Rhymes With

era sarah sierra sara para vera tara canberra kara rivera cara herrera

Questions

How do you pronounce sahara?: The recorded pronunciation is /səˈhɛɹə/.
What does sahara mean?: A desert mostly in North Africa and the largest hot desert in the world.
Where does sahara come from?: It is traced to Arabic.

How to pronounce sahara

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