Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dys-

/dɪs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.11 in modern English

Syllables: dys-
IPA: /dɪs/

7

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

prefix

prefix

prefix

prefix

prefix

prefix

prefix

prefix

Example Sentences

"dyschezia, dysacusis, dysbasia, dyslexia, dyscopia"
"dysphoria, dystopia"
"dysaemia, dyscognitive"
"dysejaculation, dysuria"
"dysbalanced, dyschloremia, dysdifferentiation"
"dysgraphia, dysphasia, dysoxic"

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dews-? Proto-Indo-European *dus- Proto-Hellenic *dus- Ancient Greek δῠσ- (dŭs-)der. New Latin dys-der. English dys- From New Latin dys-, from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “hard, difficult, bad”). Often confused with the separately derived prefix dis-.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: *dus-, dys-, δυσ-

Phrases

dis-

Frequently Paired Words

dis-

Synonyms

mal- -algia (loosely) -algy -dynia para- dis- mis- under- hypo- a- an- i-

Homonyms

dis dis- diss

Antonyms

eu-

Questions

How do you pronounce dys-?: The recorded pronunciation is /dɪs/.
What does dys- mean?: difficult
Where does dys- come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce dys-

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