Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

boreen

/bɔːˈɹiːn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: boreen
IPA: /bɔːˈɹiːn/

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland, often characterised by a ridge of grass growing in the middle.

Example Sentences

"Down a boreen green came a sweet colleen \ And she smiled as she passed me by."
"A boy in a disguise nobody believed in, an actor playing a part he didn't understand, he would trudge every rocky field and quaking bog, every pot-holed road and tortuous boreen, each of the thirteen villages on his father's estate, speaking the Irish he had learned from his father's servants."

Etymology

Borrowed from Irish bóithrín, from bóthar (“road”) and -ín (diminutive suffix).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /bɔːˈɹiːn/
British English: /bɔːˈɹiːn/

Inflected Forms

boreens (plural) bohereen (alternative) bohireen (alternative)

Rhymes With

been between mean seen green clean scene machine queen screen magazine golden mean

Questions

How do you pronounce boreen?: The recorded pronunciation is /bɔːˈɹiːn/.
What does boreen mean?: A narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland, often characterised by a ridge of grass growing in the middle.
Where does boreen come from?: Borrowed from Irish bóithrín, from bóthar (“road”) and -ín (diminutive suffix).

How to pronounce boreen

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