One syllable: Mews.
myooz
/mjuːz/
Mews is pronounced myooz (/mjuːz/). It has one syllable (Mews), with the stress on "Mews". Mews is a plural noun meaning a row or courtyard of small houses, typically with a shared wall, or a street of stables converted to living spaces. In modern usage, mews often refers to a charming, quiet residential area or to collectively named lanes adjacent to a larger street. The term conveys a distinct urban, historic character, often in British contexts, and can denote private courtyards or the houses within them.
nounMews is a plural noun meaning a row or courtyard of small houses, typically with a shared wall, or a street of stables converted to living spaces. In modern usage, mews often refers to a charming, quiet residential area or to collectively named lanes adjacent to a larger street. The term conveys a distinct urban, historic character, often in British contexts, and can denote private courtyards or the houses within them.
"The city’s mews are tucked behind cobblestones and brick facades."
"They bought a renovated mews house with a sunny courtyard."
"Tourists wandered through the quiet mews, away from the main roads."
Pronounce it as /mjuːz/ in all three major accents. It starts with an initial bilabial /m/ followed by a y-glide and a long /uː/ vowel, then a voiced /z/. Your mouth should form a light /j/ sound after /m/ (like mew-s), with the tongue high and back for /uː/. There’s no stress shift since it’s monosyllabic. For quick checks, imagine saying ‘mews’ like ‘mew-s’ with a single smooth vowel. Audio resources: listen to native pronunciations on Pronounce or Forvo for confirmation.
Common errors include turning /juː/ into a quick /u/ or dropping the /j/ entirely, producing /muːz/ or /muːz/ without the y- glide. Another mistake is mispronouncing the final /z/ as /s/ in plural forms. To correct: keep a light /j/ after /m/ as in /mjuːz/, extend the /uː/ vowel, and vocalize the final voice as a crisp /z/ rather than voiceless /s/.
In US, UK, and AU, /mjuːz/ remains similar, but the preceding /j/ may be more or less pronounced. UK English may realize a slightly tighter /juː/ sequence, while US speakers often have a more prominent /j/ onset before the long /uː/. Some Australian speakers may reduce the vowel slightly toward /uː/ in rapid speech. The rhoticity doesn’t affect this word since /juː/ already integrates the glide. Listen to local pronunciations on Pronounce to spot tiny vowels shifts.
The challenge lies in the /juː/ sequence after /m/. Learners often concatenate /m/ and /j/ too tightly, creating /mjuz/ or /mjuːz/ with reduced glide. Additionally, final /z/ requires voicing; many learners instinctively voice it as /s/. Focus on keeping a clear /j/ onset and a stable long /uː/ before a voiced /z/. Practice by isolating the glide: say ‘mew’ then attach a voiced /z/.
No; mews is a monosyllable, so there’s no internal word stress to vary. The emphasis is intrinsic to the single syllable, and you should maintain a single, steady breath and a clean vowel. Ensure the final /z/ is voiced and audible. If you encounter difficulty in connected speech, practice with phrases like ‘the mews houses’ to keep the rhythm natural without altering the base pronunciation.
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Mews derives from the Old French word mes (meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling’) and from the French mews or mas meaning ‘barn’ or ‘stable.’ In Middle English, mew could refer to a place to keep birds, and by extension to stables and houses built around or behind a stable yard. The modern sense of a mews—typically a street or compound of small houses built around a central yard—emerged in 17th- to 19th-century Britain, especially in London, where many former stables converted into fashionable residences were called mews. The term evolved from the idea of a ‘mews’ as a service yard for feeding and sheltering animals to its urban residential meaning. The first known uses appear in property and street names from the late 16th century, with the stable-yard sense well-attested in the 1600s and the more refined residential sense gaining prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries as gentrification transformed urban backstreets into desirable housing areas.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Mews" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Mews" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Mews"
-ews sounds
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