Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

new year

/ˈnu ˌjɪɹ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.78 in modern English

Syllables: new year
IPA: /ˈnu ˌjɪɹ/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A period covering the first few days of a calendar year.

noun

In particular, January 1 in the Julian and Gregorian calendar (New Year’s Day) and the days following.

noun

The next year; the year following the current year, especially the early part of it.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"We never go away at the New Year because on New Year’s Day the whole family gets together."
"We hoped that things would be better in the new year."

Etymology

From new + year.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈnu ˌjɪɹ/
British English: /ˈnjuː ˌjɪə/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

New Years (plural)

Phrases

Chinese New Year happy New Year happy New Year's Lunar New Year New Year's New Year's Day New Year's Eve New Year's resolution

Frequently Paired Words

Chinese New Year happy New Year happy New Year's Lunar New Year New Year's New Year's Day New Year's Eve New Year's resolution

Questions

How do you pronounce new year?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈnu ˌjɪɹ/.
What does new year mean?: A period covering the first few days of a calendar year.
Where does new year come from?: From new + year.

How to pronounce new year

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