Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shva

/ʃvɑː/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: sh-va
IPA: /ʃvɑː/

10

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Hebrew nikud vowel sign written as two vertical dots beneath a letter, in Israeli Hebrew indicating either the phoneme /e/ or the complete absence of a vowel.

Etymology

From Hebrew שווא / שְׁוָא (shvá, šəwɔʾ). Doublet of schwa.

Origin

Source language: Hebrew

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Inflected Forms

shvas (plural) schwa (alternative) sheva (alternative) shewa (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce shva?: The recorded pronunciation is /ʃvɑː/.
What does shva mean?: A Hebrew nikud vowel sign written as two vertical dots beneath a letter, in Israeli Hebrew indicating either the phoneme /e/ or the complete absence of a vowel.
Where does shva come from?: It is traced to Hebrew.

How to pronounce shva

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