Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zaire

/zɑːˈɪəɹ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.89 in modern English

Syllables
zaire
IPA
/zɑːˈɪəɹ/
14
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country in Central Africa; used from 1971–1997.

name

Synonym of Congo (major river in Central Africa)

name

A province of Angola, named after the river

noun

The unit of currency of Zaire from 1967 to 1998.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *jade Kongo nzadi Kongo o Kongo nzere Kongo nzadi o nzereder. Portuguese Zairebor. French Zaïrebor. English Zaire Borrowed from French Zaïre, a truncation of Kongo nzadi o nzere (“river swallowing rivers”) which refers to the Congo river; adopted in accordance with the Authenticity Movement.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /zɑːˈɪəɹ/
  • British English: /zaɪˈɪə/

Inflected Forms

Zaïre (alternative) zaires (plural)

Derived Forms

Zairese Zairian zairite Zairization

Frequently Paired Words

zaire Zairean

Synonyms

Congo

Rhymes With

year near clear career fear appear dear beer premier severe engineer gear

Questions

How do you pronounce zaire?
The recorded pronunciation is /zɑːˈɪəɹ/.
What does zaire mean?
Former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country in Central Africa; used from 1971–1997.
Where does zaire come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce zaire

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