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Why "buoy" sounds different in British English
The standard British pronunciation is /bɔɪ/, one syllable, a perfect homophone of "boy". The U is silent, and the vowel is the /ɔɪ/ glide of "toy" and "coin".
American English most often says /ˈbuːi/, two syllables, as if the spelling were "booey", although "boy" is also used in the US, particularly among sailors. In Britain, "BOO-ee" sounds distinctly American. The related words follow the same pattern: British speakers say "buoyant" as "BOY-uhnt" and "buoyancy" as "BOY-uhn-see". So a sentence like "the boy swam to the buoy" has the same word twice, as far as the sound is concerned.
How to say "buoy" like a Brit, step by step
- Ignore the U: the spelling "buoy" is said as one syllable.
- Start with b and go straight into aw, lips rounded.
- Glide up to a light ee: boy.
- Say it exactly like "boy", not "BOO-ee".
Practise "buoy" in a sentence
- The boat was tied to a buoy in the harbour.
- Swimmers must stay inside the yellow buoys.
- He kept hold of a life buoy until the lifeboat arrived.
Saying it once correctly is easy. Saying it right in the middle of a fast sentence is the hard part, which is why the sentences above matter more than the single word.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce buoy in a British accent?
In Received Pronunciation, buoy is pronounced /bɔɪ/, roughly "BOY". It is one syllable and sounds exactly like "boy".
Is the American pronunciation of buoy wrong?
No. /ˈbuːi/ is standard in American English. Both are correct, they simply belong to different accents. If you are learning a British accent, aim for /bɔɪ/.