How do you recognise a Scouse accent?

The nurse–square merger: “fur” and “fair” sound the same. Fricated T and K — “back” and “what” end in a scraping, hissy sound. A high, sing-song intonation inherited partly from Irish English. No foot–strut split, like the rest of the north: “put” and “putt” match.

Which famous people have a Scouse accent?

Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham are speakers whose recorded speech anchors the Scouse / Liverpool English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Scouse accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Scouse / Liverpool English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Liverpool and Merseyside

The Scouse accent

Scouse is the accent of Liverpool and Merseyside, shaped by heavy nineteenth-century Irish and Welsh migration into the port. It stands apart from the rest of northern England: where its neighbours have a plain T, Scouse turns T and K at the ends of words into hissy, scraping sounds. It is also one of the very few accents anywhere that rhymes “fur” with “fair”.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Scouse accent

The nurse–square merger: “fur” and “fair” sound the same.
Fricated T and K — “back” and “what” end in a scraping, hissy sound.
A high, sing-song intonation inherited partly from Irish English.
No foot–strut split, like the rest of the north: “put” and “putt” match.

Also known as Scouse accent, Liverpool accent, Liverpudlian accent, Merseyside accent. Spoken in Liverpool and Merseyside, England.

The Scouse pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Scouse speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
“car” ends in a vowel, with no R sound
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a hissy, TS-like T in “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” stay distinct
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound different
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “choon”, with a CH sound at the start, or “tune” sounds like “tyoon”, with a Y sound after the T
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
yes — “singer” has a hard g
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” sound the same, or “put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T, or “three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
“house” sounds like “ouse”, without the H
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” rhyme
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”, or “happy” ends on a short “-ih”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Liverpool and Merseyside

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Scouse speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Fizzy drink
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Trainers
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Tea
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Batch
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Chips
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Sweets
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Trolley
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeaway
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Corner shop
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	Yous / youse
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Bin
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Entry
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cool box / cool bag
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in the queue
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic lights
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Roundabout
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

Speakers with a Scouse accent

Jodie Comer
Liverpool, England
A Liverpool reference profile; Comer grew up in the city's Childwall suburb.
Stephen Graham
Kirkby, Merseyside, England
Graham was born and raised in Kirkby, just outside Liverpool.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.