Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

say

/seɪ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.89 in modern English

Syllables
say
IPA
/seɪ/
6
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To pronounce.

Transitive verb

verb

To recite.

Transitive verb

verb

To tell, either verbally or in writing.

Transitive verb

verb

To indicate in a written form.

Transitive verb

verb

To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact.

Transitive verb

verb

Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis.

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply.

Intransitive verb

verb

To bet as a wager on an outcome; by extension, used to express belief in an outcome by the speaker.

Informal; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English saien, sain, san, secgan, segen, seien, sein, seiȝen, sugen, sægen, ziggen, from Old English seċġan, secgean, secggan, secggean, seggan, sæċġan (“to say, speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *saggjan, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaną (“to say”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷ-h₁-yé-, a suffixed o-grade form of *sekʷ- (“to say”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian sai, seede, sii, sjide, sooi, säie (“to say”), West Frisian sizze (“to say”), Alemannic German ŝchége, ŝchegi, séege, säge, sägä (“to say”), Bavarian sogn, soon, sågn (“to say”), Dutch zeggen (“to say”), German sagen (“to say”), Low German seggen (“to say, tell”), Luxembourgish soen (“to say”), Vilamovian ziöen, zuön, zuø̄n (“to say”), Yiddish זאָגן (zogn, “to say”), Danish sige (“to say”), Elfdalian saja (“to say”), Faroese siga (“to say”), Icelandic segja (“to say”), Jamtish segi (“to say”), Norwegian Bokmål si (“to say”), Norwegian Nynorsk segja, seia, seie (“to say, tell”), Scanian siğa (“to say”), Swedish säga (“to say”); also Cornish hwedhel (“narrative, story, tale”), Irish scéal (“story, tale”), Manx skeeal (“story; news; narrative”), Scottish Gaelic sgeul (“story, tale; information, news”), Welsh chwedl (“story, tale”), hebu (“to say”), Latin inquam (“to say”), Ancient Greek ἐνέπω (enépō), ἐννέπω (ennépō, “tell or tell about; speak”), Latvian sacīt (“to say, tell”), Lithuanian sakyti (“to say, tell”), Bulgarian соча (soča, “to indicate; to point”), Czech sočit (“to blame, hate”), Old Polish soczyć (“to accuse, slander”), Russian сочи́ть (sočítʹ, “to emit (a liquid)”), Ukrainian сочи́ти (sočýty, “to emit (a liquid), exude, ooze; to drain, sap”). The adverb and interjection are from the verb.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: saien, seċġan, *saggjan, *sagjaną, *sokʷ-h₁-yé-, *sekʷ-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /seɪ/
  • British English: /seɪ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Antonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce say?
The recorded pronunciation is /seɪ/.
What does say mean?
To pronounce.
Where does say come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce say

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