2 syllables: Du, ty. Stress on Du.
DOO-tee
/ˈduti/
Duty is pronounced DOO-tee (/ˈduti/). It has two syllables (Du-ty), with the stress on "Du". Duty refers to a moral or legal obligation, or a task you are bound to perform. It conveys responsibility or service, often with a formal or duties-bound sense. In everyday use, it can describe what someone is expected to do, or the role or charge assigned to them, implying accountability and obligation.
nounDuty refers to a moral or legal obligation, or a task you are bound to perform. It conveys responsibility or service, often with a formal or duties-bound sense. In everyday use, it can describe what someone is expected to do, or the role or charge assigned to them, implying accountability and obligation.
- You may drop the /j/ in the onset, making /ˈduːti/. Fix: consciously pronounce /dj/ as a starting cluster, with a brief palate touch before the vowel. - The first syllable can be overly long or flattened; keep the stress precise and the /uː/ short but full, not lax. Fix: practice stopping after /d/ then glide into /juː/ quickly. - Final /ti/ can sound like a schwa or be too tensed; aim for a clear, crisp /ti/. Fix: end with a clean alveolar stop and a shorter, focused /i/.
How to Pronounce Duty
"It is your duty to report any safety hazards to your supervisor."
"The soldiers stood guard, fulfilling their duty despite the long hours."
"She felt a sense of duty to care for her aging parents."
US: /ˈduːti/; UK/AU: /ˈdjuːti/. The first syllable carries primary stress. The initial consonant cluster is a /d/ plus a subtle /j/ glide in British/Australian pronunciations, producing a /djuː/ onset, while American speakers may reduce to /duː/ without the /j/ glide in casual speech. Try starting with a long, tense high back vowel /uː/ in the first syllable, then release into a light /ti/ with a clean, crisp /t/ and a short /i/.
Three common errors: (1) Dropping the /j/ in the onset, saying /ˈduːti/ instead of /ˈdjuːti/ in varieties that retain the glide; (2) Misplacing the stress or making it first syllable secondary, leading to /ˈduːti/; (3) Not voicing the final /ti/ crisply, giving a dull or slurred /ti/ instead of a clean alveolar stop follow-through. Corrections: ensure the /j/ glide is audible, keep primary stress on the first syllable, and articulate the /t/ clearly before the /i/.
US tends to treat the onset as /duː/ with less pronounced /j/ in casual speech, sometimes merging to /ˈduːti/. UK/AU preserve the /j/ as /djuː/, with two-syllable rhythm and a slightly shorter /i/ at the end. Rhoticity in US accents can influence the preceding vowel length; non-rhotic UK variants may reduce the rhotic influence, affecting the quality of /ˈdjuːti/. Australian English often mirrors UK patterns with a clear /j/ glide and strong first syllable stress.
The difficulty stems from the two-syllable structure with a strong initial stress and a tricky /j/ glide in many British and Australian speakers. The /t/ before a high front vowel in /ti/ can be softened or released as a tap in fast speech, and the length of the vowel in the first syllable can vary by dialect. Also, non-native speakers may mis-handle the palatal-onset /dju-/ or substitute with /duː-/, losing the glide and changing the rhythm.
The unique feature is the palatalizing /j/ glide in the onset of the first syllable for many accents, yielding /djuː/ rather than /duː/. This glide shifts vocal tract shape and requires precise tongue elevation toward the hard palate just after the /d/. The result is a smoother, two-syllable beat with distinct onset transition from /d/ to /j/ that sets it apart from words like 'doodie' or 'duty-free'.
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- US vs UK/AU: US often reduces /juː/ to /uː/ in casual speech; UK/AU preserve stronger /j/ glide. IPA references: US /ˈduːti/; UK/AU /ˈdjuːti/. - Vowel length: First syllable vowel is long /uː/ in both, but the quality can be longer in American speech before a voiceless consonant; keep it steady. - Consonants: Onset /d/ should be clean; avoid a heavy split before the /j/; practice a gentle /d/ + /j/ together. - Lip and jaw: Keep jaw relaxed, lips rounded slightly for the /uː/; tongue closes toward the hard palate for the /j/ before the vowel.
Duty originates from the Old French duté, derived from Latin debitus, meaning owed, owing, or due. The root word is due or de-, similar to debere in Latin meaning to owe or to owe as a debt. The concept entered English via medieval French law and military contexts where it signified what one is bound to do by obligation. Over time, English extended the sense from a formal debt or owed service to broader responsibilities in civic, professional, and moral realms. The term evolved through the Early Modern period with usage intensifying in contexts of governance, military service, and social expectation. First known English attestations appear in the 14th to 15th centuries, often tied to duties placed on subjects, soldiers, and officials. By the 17th–18th centuries, duty broadened to refer to personal conscience and role-specific obligations beyond mere service, encompassing ethical duties and duties to family, community, and organization. In contemporary usage, duty covers diverse domains—from military service to professional responsibilities and everyday moral obligations, retaining a sense of accountability and a binding expectation to act.
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Words that rhyme with "Duty"
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