Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ladybird

/ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.54 in modern English

Syllables
la-dy-bird
IPA
/ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

Example Sentences

Etymology

From lady + bird. Lady here refers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Compare German Marienkäfer (literally “Mary beetle or bug”), Danish mariehøne, Latvian mārīte, Macedonian бубамара (bubamara) and Spanish mariquita. Also compare damselfly.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/
  • British English: /ˈleɪ.di.bəːd/

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce ladybird?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈleɪ.di.bɝd/.
What does ladybird mean?
Any of the Coccinellidae family of beetles, typically having a round shape and red or yellow spotted elytra.
Where does ladybird come from?
From lady + bird. Lady here refers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Compare German Marienkäfer (literally “Mary beetle or bug”), Danish mariehøne, Latvian mārīte, Macedonian бубамара (bubamara) and Spanish mariquita. Also compare damselfly.

How to pronounce ladybird

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