How do you pronounce where?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈweː/.

Where does where come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

where

/ˈweː/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.00 in modern English

Syllables: where
IPA: /ˈweː/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In, at or to what place.

adv

In what situation.

adv

In, at or to the place (that) or a place (that).

adv

In, at or to any place (that); wherever; anywhere.

adv

In, at or to which.

adv

The place in, at or to which.

adv

A situation or case in which.

Informal

adv

In a/the situation, position, case, etc. in which.

Example Sentences

"Where are you?"
"He asked where I grew up."
"Where are you going?"
"Where you going?"
"I've forgotten where I was in this book, but it was probably around chapter four."
"I hardly knew where I was going."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- Proto-Indo-European *kʷís Proto-Germanic *hwaz Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Germanic *-r Proto-Germanic *hwar Proto-West Germanic *hwār Old English hwǣr Middle English wher English where From Middle English wher, from Old English hwǣr (“where”, literally “at what place”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwār, from Proto-Germanic *hwar (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷ- (interrogative pronoun).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *kʷ-, wher, hwǣr, *hwār, *hwar

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈweː/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

quhar (alternative, obsolete) quher (alternative, obsolete) quhere (alternative, obsolete) wheres (plural)

Derived Forms

allwhere anywhere eachwhere elsewhere everwhere everywhere otherwhere somewhere whereabout whereabouts whereafter whereagainst

Phrases

before one knows where one is black where it counts boldly go where no man has gone before credit where credit's due don't get your honey where you make your money don't get your meat where you get your bread don't shit where you eat drive a nail where it will go

Synonyms

whither

Homonyms

ware wear (both wine–whine merger) weir we're (both cheer–chair merger, wine–whine merger) whir (fair–fur merger) were (fair–fur merger, wine–whine merger)

Rhymes With

their there care they're air share hair fair wear square aware rare