Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

samurai

/ˈsæməˌɹaɪ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.65 in modern English

Syllables
samu-rai
IPA
/ˈsæməˌɹaɪ/
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

In feudal Japan, a soldier who served a daimyo.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 侍 (samurai).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈsæməˌɹaɪ/
  • British English: /ˈsæm(j)ʊɹaɪ/

Inflected Forms

samurais (plural)

Derived Forms

samurainess

Phrases

samurai sauce samurai sword

Frequently Paired Words

ronin

Questions

How do you pronounce samurai?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsæməˌɹaɪ/.
What does samurai mean?
In feudal Japan, a soldier who served a daimyo.
Where does samurai come from?
It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce samurai

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