One syllable: Whine.
weyen
/waɪn/
Whine is pronounced weyen (/waɪn/). It has one syllable (Whine), with the stress on "Whine". Whine is a verb meaning to complain in a high, plaintive, and often irritating way; as a noun, it denotes a long, high-pitched complaint or the act of whining. It conveys persistence and dissatisfaction, typically expressed through tones that are nasal and drawled. The term can describe both people and sounds, including animals, alarms, or machinery that emit a plaintive or nagging noise.
nounWhine is a verb meaning to complain in a high, plaintive, and often irritating way; as a noun, it denotes a long, high-pitched complaint or the act of whining. It conveys persistence and dissatisfaction, typically expressed through tones that are nasal and drawled. The term can describe both people and sounds, including animals, alarms, or machinery that emit a plaintive or nagging noise.
- Mispronouncing /aɪ/ as a short /ɪ/ or /i:/ as in 'win' or 'wine' with a shorter, flatter vowel. Fix: emphasize the diphthong /aɪ/ by starting with an open mouth and gliding to a high vowel, then snap to /n/.- - Adding extra vowel after the /n/ like /naɪnə/ or /naɪən/. Fix: stop at /n/; practice with a following consonant or word boundary to suppress the trailing vowel. - Carryover voice into following word, causing a stretched or nasalized ending. Fix: practice final stop release with a sharp crest and release into next word. Perfect practice requires shadowing and controlled pace.
"- The puppy began to whine at dusk until someone opened the door."
"- Stop whining about the rain; we can still enjoy the concert indoors."
"- She could hear the sick machine whine as it struggled to start."
Whine is pronounced with a single stressed syllable: /waɪn/. The vowel is a long, tight diphthong moving from /aɪ/ to /ɪ/. Start with an open jaw, tongue high in the front, then glide into a tight /ɪ/ toward the end of the sound. It rhymes with mine, line, sign, pine. For clarity: the initial consonants are not aspirated; it’s a pure vowel nucleus with a light final release.
Two frequent errors: (1) pronouncing it as an /w-ɪn/ with a short, lax vowel like win, which sounds off due to the /aɪ/ diphthong; ensure you use /waɪ/ rather than /wɪ/. (2) Over-voicing or adding an extra oral vowel after the /n/, making it sound like 'whine-uh' or 'wine-uh'. Keep the nucleus as /aɪ/ and end promptly on /n/ without trailing schwa. Practice by isolating the /aɪ/ blend, then closing with a clean /n/.
US/UK/AU share /waɪn/ as the base, but vowel quality and rhoticity influence surrounding sounds. In US, a non-rhotic or rhotic preference does not affect /aɪ/ much, but linking to following words can alter perceived length. In UK, a slightly more clipped onset and crisper /n/ can occur; in AU, vowels may be more centralized and faster, with less noticeable vowel narrowing. Overall, the core /waɪn/ remains consistent; regional differences appear in surrounding vowels and intonation patterns rather than core consonants.
The difficulty lies in the /aɪ/ diphthong, which moves from an open front position to a near-high position, requiring tight jaw and tongue movement. Some speakers also apply excess lip rounding or jaw tension, which dulls the diphthong’s rise. The final /n/ must be clearly released without a trailing vowel; many speakers insert a tiny vowel after /n/, turning it into /naɪən/. Focus on the smooth glide from /aɪ/ to /n/ without extra voice.
In practice, you focus on /waɪn/. Start with a relaxed jaw, lips neutral, tongue high-mid to front. Glide from /aɪ/ to /ɪn/ quickly, finishing with a crisp /n/. Ensure the vowel transition has a visible glide and avoid turning it into /waɪən/ or /waɪnə/. IPA reference: /waɪn/. Mouth position: initial lip spreading slightly, slight tightness at the back of the tongue as you approach /aɪ/ before finishing with the alveolar /n/.
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- US: /waɪn/ with a relatively flat intonation after; avoid over-nasalization and keep /aɪ/ stable. - UK: crisper onset with slightly lighter vowel quality; keep alveolar /n/ clear. - AU: often more centralized vowel height, quicker transition; maintain precise /aɪ/ glide and clean /n/ without vowel hush. Use IPA as guide; listen for subtle rhotic influences not affecting core vowellism.
Whine derives from the Old English wīnian, which meant to lament or bewail, and is related to the German weinen (to weep) and Old Norse wenna (to wail). The sense evolved in Middle English to denote a high-pitched, plaintive sound associated with complaint, distress, or nagging. The noun use, indicating a sustained, irritating complaint, emerged in the early modern period as social language shifted to label repetitive sounds or requests as whining. The term retained ties to both emotional display and audible annoyance, often linked with both human vocalization and machine-like noises from the industrial era onward. It has kept a negative evaluative tone in most dialects, reinforcing expectations of restraint or dismissal of such vocal behavior. First known written uses appear in texts from the 14th to 16th centuries, with the sense developing into modern English by the 17th century, where it described both the act and the resulting sentiment with increasing specificity in social and literary contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Whine" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Whine" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Whine"
-ine sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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