---
title: "How to pronounce asterisk | Murmur"
description: "Check asterisk pronunciation with CMUdict sound tokens and stress, then practise two original sentences and download a voiceover audition worksheet."
canonical: "https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/asterisk"
---
[Murmur](https://www.murmurtts.com/)/[Pronunciation](https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation)/asterisk

PRONUNCIATION / Science and learning

# How to pronounce asterisk

Check asterisk pronunciation with CMUdict sound tokens and stress, then practise two original sentences and download a voiceover audition worksheet.

## The dictionary sound sequence

CMUdict lists this North American English pronunciation for **asterisk**. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: **1** primary, **2** secondary, **0** unstressed.

Dictionary variant 1

`AE1 S T ER0 IH0 S K`

**Syllable estimate**

3 vowel nuclei

**Primary stress**

1st vowel position

[Check asterisk in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asterisk).

Syllable counts come from vowel tokens; CMUdict does not supply syllable boundaries here. Variant order follows the dictionary and does not rank correctness. This lexicon does not represent every accent or context.

## Use asterisk in context

Asterisk names the star-shaped mark used for notes, qualifications, and other notation. Spoken explanations need to say what the mark changes or points to because listeners cannot always see it. In narration of written material, explaining the attached note may be more useful than merely naming the symbol.

1. An asterisk marks the figures that remain provisional.
2. Read the note beside the asterisk before comparing the totals.

### A practice cue

Audition asterisk within the instruction that explains its function. If you are reading a table or footnote aloud, check whether speaking the symbol name improves understanding, and leave enough space for the associated qualification to register.

## Read the sound tokens

Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of asterisk. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the [CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A)](https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aria/Papers/MastersThesis.pdf#page=115).

`AE`sound in **at**vowel`S`sound in **sea**consonant`T`sound in **tea**consonant`ER`sound in **hurt**vowel`IH`sound in **it**vowel`K`sound in **key**consonant

TAKE IT TO YOUR NEXT RECORDING

## Make an audition worksheet

Select a dictionary variant for your checklist. The two original sentences retain their normal spelling; this worksheet helps you review a recording rather than forcing a speech engine to use phonemes.

Copying and downloading happen in your browser. No script upload or audio generation is needed.

## Dictionary source

The phonemes on this page come from [CMU Pronouncing Dictionary](https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict). The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters.

[CMUdict README](https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/README) · [Included dictionary license](https://www.murmurtts.com/downloads/cmudict-license.txt)

Source version and checksum

Commit: `74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690`

Dictionary SHA-256: `81917843c7f44ce2b094ac63873c2c7a4cf802040792c455ba3ca406891c3d22`

## Keep practising

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[Build a pronunciation test suite for local TTS](https://www.murmurtts.com/blog/pronunciation-test-suite-local-tts) · [Browse all word references](https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation)

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## Check the word in a real voiceover.

Murmur generates speech locally on Apple Silicon Macs. Try your audition sentences with your chosen model and voice, listen for pronunciation, and review the result before exporting. A dictionary sequence does not guarantee a model’s output.

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