--- title: "How to pronounce quay | Murmur" description: "Quay sounds like \"key\" in CMUdict (K IY1), with a second listed form, KAY (K EY1); neither one has the \"kw\" the spelling suggests." canonical: "https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/quay" --- [Murmur](https://www.murmurtts.com/)/[Pronunciation](https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation)/quay Pronunciation · Everyday language # How to pronounce quay Quay sounds like "key" in CMUdict (K IY1), with a second listed form, KAY (K EY1); neither one has the "kw" the spelling suggests. [Buy $49](https://murmur-licenses.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/checkout)[Download free for Apple Silicon (3-day Pro trial)](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/latest)Intel Mac? [Download here](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/intel).Not sure? Apple menu > About This Mac shows your chip. Free plan with Kokoro voices, 3,000 characters a day · 3-day Pro trial, then $49 once ## The dictionary sound sequence CMUdict lists these 2 North American English pronunciations for **quay**. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: **1** primary, **2** secondary, **0** unstressed. Dictionary variant 1 `K IY1` **Syllable estimate** 1 vowel nucleus **Primary stress** 1st vowel position Dictionary variant 2 `K EY1` **Syllable estimate** 1 vowel nucleus **Primary stress** 1st vowel position [Check quay in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quay). 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 quay in context Quay names a stone landing where boats tie up, and it turns up in harbor walks, travel guides and British place names. Readers who have only seen it written tend to say "kway", a form some US dictionaries list but CMUdict does not. The first dictionary entry matches the word key, and the second rhymes with day. 1. The ferry leaves from the north quay at half past nine. 2. We ate lunch on a bench by the quay and watched the fishing boats come in. ### A practice cue Picture the word spelled k-e-y and read it that way. If a w creeps in after the K, slow down and try again. ## Read the sound tokens Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of quay. 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). `K`sound in **key**consonant`IY`sound in **eat**vowel`EY`sound in **ate**vowel 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. 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Murmur generates speech locally on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 as a beta. 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. [Buy $49](https://murmur-licenses.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/checkout)[Download free for Apple Silicon (3-day Pro trial)](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/latest)Intel Mac? [Download here](https://murmur-updates.tarunyadav9761.workers.dev/download/intel).Not sure? Apple menu > About This Mac shows your chip.[Explore Murmur](https://www.murmurtts.com/?utm_source=pronunciation&utm_medium=pseo&utm_campaign=wave1&utm_content=quay#product)[Get Murmur free by sharing it](https://www.murmurtts.com/free?utm_source=pronunciation&utm_medium=pseo&utm_campaign=wave1&utm_content=quay)