Australian English pronunciation
Australian English shares the dropped r of British English but has its own vowel system: the “ay” in day drifts toward “eye”, and the “ee” in fleece and the “oo” in goose start further forward in the mouth. Statements often end on a rising pitch, the “high rising terminal”. Type any word above to hear it in an Australian voice.
Hear it in Australian English
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Voices
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What makes Australian pronunciation distinct
The r is dropped (non-rhotic)
Like British English, Australian English only pronounces r before a vowel, so car and water lose their final r.
Shifted vowels
The vowel in day and mate glides toward the vowel in eye, and the vowels of fleece and goose are pronounced further forward. It is what gives the accent its character.
The high rising terminal
Ordinary statements often rise in pitch at the end, the way a question does in other accents — a well-known feature of Australian speech.
Compare with other accents
The quickest way to hear what changes is side by side. Hear the same word in Australian and another accent with Compare, or read how they differ:
Practise the differences
Show the 15 words
Show the 15 words
Show the 15 words
Show the 15 words
Show the 15 words
Show the 15 words
Related guides
Australian English in depth
Australian English grew out of a mixture of British dialects — predominantly London and the southeast — carried to the colonies by convicts and settlers in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Two centuries of isolation and dialect levelling produced something that is non-rhotic like southern British English and shares many of its vowel distinctions, yet sounds unmistakably different. Learners who expect it to sound "British" are usually surprised.
The Australian vowel shift is a systematic chain shift, which is why the accent changes so many words at once rather than one or two. The FACE vowel in starts from a more open position, edging toward "die" for an unfamiliar ear. The GOAT vowel in moves forward and up. The PRICE vowel in has a more centralised onset. The TRAP vowel is higher and more fronted than in either British or American English. The BATH set, as in RP, takes the broad /ɑː/, so patterns with British English rather than American.
The FLEECE vowel is noticeably diphthongised — carries a glide that non-Australians hear as "see-ee". The KIT vowel splits too, fronting before some consonants and backing elsewhere; the stereotyped "feesh and cheeps" for and chips is that split, exaggerated.
Rhythm and intonation sit in a flatter pitch range than RP, with a slight nasal quality from a lowered velum. T-glottalisation appears in casual speech but less systematically than in British varieties, and may take a flap-T close to the American one — the vowel quality is what keeps it sounding Australian.
The vocabulary is a genuine part of the accent, because the abbreviations carry their own stress pattern. , (afternoon), (barbecue), (breakfast) and are instantly recognisable. The diminutive -o suffix is unusually productive: (service station), (liquor store), (truck driver).
Twenty words to practise
Tap any word to hear it in an Australian voice.
Last reviewed 2026-08-18 · Learn Pronounce