Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vlei

/vleɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.52 in modern English

Syllables: vlei
IPA: /vleɪ/

7

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A shallow wetland or minor lake, generally a seasonal one, or the lowland where such a wetland appears seasonally.

Example Sentences

"The country thereabout was a succession of vleys or gulleys, then filled with excellent clear water, teeming with water-fowl."
"She remembered the pleasurable warm smell of the cow droppings […] as if the four-divided stomachs of the great oxen were filled with nothing but concentrated memories of hours of grazing along the water heavy vleis."
"Although rare, it takes an unearthly amount of rain to fill the Tsauchab River and penetrate the dune area, bringing water into the vlei. During these rare times, the vlei takes on a life of its own, much different than in the absence of water[…]"

Etymology

From Afrikaans vlei, from Dutch vallei (“valley”). Doublet of valley and vly.

Origin

Source language: Afrikaans

Word Breakdown

Root: vlei, vallei

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /vleɪ/
British English: /fleɪ/

Inflected Forms

vleis (plural) vley (alternative) vly (alternative)

Phrases

vlei rat

Questions

How do you pronounce vlei?: The recorded pronunciation is /vleɪ/.
What does vlei mean?: A shallow wetland or minor lake, generally a seasonal one, or the lowland where such a wetland appears seasonally.
Where does vlei come from?: It is traced to Afrikaans.

How to pronounce vlei

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