Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

up helly aa

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.09 in modern English

Syllables: up- helly aa
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland, in Scotland, to mark the end of the Yule season.

Etymology

From the Shetlandic form of Scots up-haly-aw.

Inflected Forms

Up-Helly-Aa (alternative) Uphelya (alternative)

Questions

What does up helly aa mean?: Any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland, in Scotland, to mark the end of the Yule season.
Where does up helly aa come from?: From the Shetlandic form of Scots up-haly-aw.

How to pronounce up helly aa

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