Meaning & use
a schwa
Last updated
UK/ə ˈʃwɑː/
US/ə ˈʃwɑː/
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A weak, neutral vowel sound heard in unstressed syllables, such as the first sound in 'about', shown by the symbol /ə/.
Grammar: Countable: a schwa, many schwas.
The last syllable of 'sofa' contains a schwa.
English speakers often reduce vowels to a schwa in fast speech.
The symbol for a schwa looks like an upside-down e.
Word forms
| plural | schwas |
|---|
Common combinations
- unstressed schwa
- The unstressed schwa is very quiet.
- reduce to a schwa
- Vowels reduce to a schwa in 'banana'.
- schwa sound
- The schwa sound is easy to miss.
- pronounced as a schwa
- The 'a' in 'about' is pronounced as a schwa.
Synonyms and how they differ
- neutral vowel
- Neutral vowel is a plain description, while schwa is the precise technical term.
- reduced vowel
- Reduced vowel is wider and can include other weak sounds.
- mid-central vowel
- Mid-central vowel is the exact phonetic classification and sounds more technical.
Word family
- schwa noun
- the vowel sound itself
- vowel noun
- a speech sound made without blocking air
- unstressed adjective
- not emphasized
Commonly confused: a schwa or shwa?
a schwa vs shwa
This is a misspelling; the standard spelling is schwa.
Practice
In which word does the underlined vowel typically have a schwa sound: 'banAna' (first a)?
Choose one answer.
The first an in banana is unstressed and reduced to a schwa. The other vowels are stressed full vowels.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a schwa”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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