How To Pronounce Essay

In British English, essay is pronounced /ˈes.eɪ/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈes.eɪ]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈes.eɪ/.

Essay has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.