how to pronounce waif

/ˈwɛɪf/

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of waif is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

waif is pronounced in one syllable

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1. example pitch curve for pronunciation of waif

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video examples of waif pronunciation

An example use of waif in a speech by a native speaker of american english:

“… fluttering arms of waif like ballerinas …”

meanings of waif

noun:

A castaway; a homeless child.
Goods found of which the owner is not known; originally, such goods as a pursued thief threw away to prevent being apprehended, which belonged to the king unless the owner made pursuit of the felon, took him, and brought him to justice.
A plant that has been introduced but is not persistently naturalized.
Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance.
A minor celebrity who does not deserve his or her fame.

waif frequency in english - C2+ level of CEFR

the word waif occurs in english on average 0.2 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C2+ level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.

topics waif can be related to

it is hard to perfectly classify words into specific topics since each word can have many context of its use, but our machine-learning models believe that waif can be often used in the following areas:

1) people, society, and culture;