2 syllables: Reg, gae. Stress on Reg.
REG-ay
/ˈɹɛˌɡeɪ/
Reggae is pronounced REG-ay (/ˈɹɛˌɡeɪ/). It has two syllables (Reg-gae), with the stress on "Reg". Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s, evolving from ska and rocksteady with a distinctive offbeat rhythm and laid-back vocal delivery. It emphasizes rhythmic guitar or piano upstrokes, bass-forward grooves, and themes of social commentary and resistance. The term can also refer to the style itself or a person who plays reggae music, often carried with a sense of cultural identity and connection to Rastafari traditions.
nounReggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s, evolving from ska and rocksteady with a distinctive offbeat rhythm and laid-back vocal delivery. It emphasizes rhythmic guitar or piano upstrokes, bass-forward grooves, and themes of social commentary and resistance. The term can also refer to the style itself or a person who plays reggae music, often carried with a sense of cultural identity and connection to Rastafari traditions.
"I love listening to reggae on Sundays; the groove always makes me want to dance."
"The reggae scene in Kingston produced artists who influenced music worldwide."
"She wears a reggae-inspired shirt and enjoys dancehall-infused rhythms at the club."
Pronounce reggae as REH-gay, with the primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU: ˈrɛɡeɪ. Start with a clear /r/ followed by a short, mid vowel /e/ as in “bet,” then a soft /ɡ/ and end with a long diphthong /eɪ/ as in “say.” Keep the final syllable lighter and avoid a hard ‘g’-heavy ending. For reference, you can listen to native speakers on Pronounce or Forvo and compare with shake-free, even intonation.
Common errors: 1) Misplacing stress on the second syllable (re-GAY). 2) Dropping the /ɡ/ or making it overly aspirated (re-GAY). 3) Treating the final /eɪ/ as a quick /e/ or /ai/. Correction: keep primary stress on the first syllable, articulate a clear /ɡ/ before the diphthong, and glide into /eɪ/ with a smooth transition. Practice with slow tempo and minimal pairs to cement the /ˈrɛɡeɪ/ rhythm.
In US/UK/AU, reggae shares the same IPA /ˈrɛɡeɪ/ with minimal variation in the final diphthong; the main differences lie in vowel quality around /ɛ/ and /eɪ/ and the rhoticity in connected speech. US speakers retain rhoticity in connected speech, UK tends towards non-rhotic but reggae is typically not heavily affected because the cluster ends in a stressed syllable. Australian varieties may be slightly more centralized but still preserve the /ˈrɛɡeɪ/ core.
Reggae presents a challenge due to the short, open-mid vowel /ɛ/ in the first syllable and the glide into the long diphthong /eɪ/. The sequence /ˈrɛɡeɪ/ requires precise timing: a crisp /ɡ/ onset, and a smooth, elongated /eɪ/ after it. Many speakers carry over a /ɒ/ or /æ/ from other dialects or overemphasize the final vowel. Focusing on the throat position and the timing of the syllables helps stabilize the rhythm of reggae.
Reggae pronunciation hinges on the strong first syllable: /ˈrɛ/ with a mid-front vowel, followed by the /ɡ/ and the /eɪ/ glide. Stress remains on the first syllable even in casual speech, and the final vowel sound should be clearly a long diphthong /eɪ/, not a shortened vowel. Practicing with pitch variation—slightly rising intonation on the second syllable in casual speech—helps mimic natural reggae cadence.
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Reggae originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s as a development from ska and rocksteady. The term’s exact origin is debated, but it is widely associated with the emphasis on the offbeat, or the upstroke guitar/piano that characterizes the rhythm common in reggae. Early Jamaican musicians used terms like reggae to describe a broader musical movement that included mento and ska reinterpretations; by the mid-1960s to 1968, the word started to appear in music journalism and local recordings, gaining international traction through artists like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Peter Tosh. The word may derive from the term reggatee or regetonuar, reflecting a pronunciation shift among Jamaican speakers, but the prevailing scholarly view ties it to the emphasis on reggae’s characteristic offbeat, or “on the up,” feel and the social, spiritual, and political layers embedded in the music. Over time, reggae has broadened to describe a global genre with many substyles, while retaining its Jamaican roots and Rastafari-associated imagery and themes. First known use in print dates to the 1960s, with earlier oral usage likely in Jamaica as a descriptor for the rhythm and lifestyle associated with the music culture.”,
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Reggae" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Reggae" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Reggae"
-gay sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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