Arse is a colloquial British and Australian noun meaning the buttocks or posterior. It is commonly used in informal speech and can also express annoyance or emphasis, as in phrases like ‘go away, you lazy arse.’ Although crude, it is widely understood and encountered in media, dialogue, and everyday conversation.
- You may insert an extra vowel between /ɑː/ and /s/ making it sound like /ɑːərs/ or /æɹs/. Keep it a clean single syllable. - You might vocalize or voice the /s/, producing /z/. Keep the /s/ voiceless and sharp. - In rhotic US, you may insert a pronounced /ɹ/ before /s/ making it /ɑɹs/; if your accent is non-rhotic, omit the /ɹ/ entirely.
"That chair is uncomfortable for my arse after sitting all day."
"Don’t be such an arse—help us out for once."
"He slipped and landed on his arse in the mud."
"If you’re late again, you’ll really piss me off, arse."
Arse comes from the Old English word as (also earþe) with Germanic roots, evolving in Middle English as arse or arse. It shares roots with the Dutch words aars and the German affix arse, all tied to the concept of the hind part. In early use, the term could be crude but not unheard of in everyday speech. By the 16th–17th centuries, arse had become a familiar coarse noun in English-speaking regions and retained its vulgar register in modern informal contexts. Across Britain and Australia, arse has traveled through literature, stage, and screen, shifting slightly in nuance from blunt insult to familiar provocation. The word’s acceptance varies by social context; it remains disallowed in formal situations but ubiquitous in humor, slang, and irreverent dialogue. The etymological path shows a clear lineage from Proto-Germanic terms referring to the hindquarters, with semantic specialization toward the human posterior in everyday modern usage.
💡 Etymology tip: Understanding word origins can help you remember pronunciation patterns and recognize related words in the same language family.
Help others use "Arse" correctly by contributing grammar tips, common mistakes, and context guidance.
💡 These words have similar meanings to "Arse" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Arse" and show contrast in usage.
📚 Vocabulary tip: Learning synonyms and antonyms helps you understand nuanced differences in meaning and improves your word choice in speaking and writing.
Words that rhyme with "Arse"
-rge sounds
-rse sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
Arse is pronounced with a single syllable, stress on the vowel, and ends with an unvoiced /s/. In IPA for UK/Australia: /ɑːs/. In US English you’ll hear /ɑːrs/ with the rhotic r often pronounced before the /s/ in American speech, making it a rhotic variant. Position the tongue low and back for /ɑː/, keep lips relaxed, and release a crisp /s/. You can listen to native use in casual speech and audio dictionaries. Practice: start with /ɑː/ then add the /s/ without a strong final consonant surge.
Common errors: (1) Adding an extra vowel: /ˈaɹs/ or /ˈæɹs/—keep it as a short, flat /ɑː/ quality without an overt vowel after the r (which many speakers insert in American variants). (2) Overpronouncing the final /ɹ/ where applicable; in non-rhotic accents you omit the /ɹ/ entirely, ending with /s/. (3) Misplacing the tongue so the /s/ sounds like /z/; keep the /s/ voiceless and crisp. Correction: produce a single, quick /ɑː/ vowel, then a precise /s/ with a short, clean release, and do not voice the /s/.
In UK and AU accents, arse is typically /ɑːs/ with a long, pure /ɑː/ and a voiceless /s/, non-rhotic; final /r/ is not pronounced. In many US accents, you may hear /ɑrs/ with a rhotic /r/ before the /s/, turning it into /ɑɹs/ or /ɑɹs/. In rhotic US, the /ɹ/ is pronounced strongly, affecting the vowel length perception. Australian English often follows UK patterns but may have slightly shorter /ɑː/ and a more centralized vowel quality. The key is whether the speaker pronounces a rhotic r or not and how the vowel length and quality shift.
The difficulty comes from two phonetic aspects: (1) the long /ɑː/ vowel that requires a back, open jaw position which may feel awkward if your native language has a shorter or fronter vowel. (2) The final /s/ must be a crisp, voiceless sibilant without voicing, which can be tricky if your tongue or mouth tends to voice fricatives. Additionally, in US and some learners’ dialects, the presence or absence of rhotic /ɹ/ can alter the perceived vowel length and the overall smoothness of the word. Accent awareness helps you land a natural, native-like pronunciation.
The most unique aspect is the final sibilant — it should be crisp and unvoiced rather than softened into a z. Ensure you’re not turning the word into a two-syllable form by inserting an extra vowel between the /ɑː/ and /s/. Also monitor your mouth posture: the back of the tongue sits low and flat for /ɑː/, lip relaxation, and then a quick air release for /s/. In some dialects you may hear a short pre-resonant vowel; avoid that, keep it tight and direct.
🗣️ Voice search tip: These questions are optimized for voice search. Try asking your voice assistant any of these questions about "Arse"!
- Shadowing: listen to native speakers saying arse and repeat in real time, maintaining vowel length and final sibilant. - Minimal pairs: arse / arse (not a pair); consider pairs like /ɑːs/ vs /ɒs/ in UK cockney; practice with context to feel the difference. - Rhythm: practice a short, punchy single-syllable word; keep it crisp. - Stress: one-syllable word; no extra stress. - Recording: record yourself, compare with a native pronunciation; adjust. - Context sentences: use two sentences per context to practice in real life. - Shadow + pause: pause after the sentence to check combining with next words.
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