Reference reading
azh ur
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How to pronounce Azure
Azure is pronounced AZH-er, stressed on the first syllable, with the z sounding like the s in measure.
Azure
- IPA
- /ˈæʒər/
- Say it like
- AZH-er
AZHer
The controls above compare IPA spellings. Reference recordings are below.
US: /ˈæʒər/, ending in an r. UK: /ˈæʒə/, without the r. British dictionaries also list /ˈæzjʊə/ (AZ-yoor).
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Compare a reference reading, a direct machine reading, and a contextual sentence. These are not separate US and UK recordings.
Direct machine reading
Azure
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In a sentence
这套服务部署在 Azure 上。
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COMMON MISTAKES
How people get Azure wrong
Often heard
uh-ZHOOR
Stressing the second syllable, as in French azur or the phrase a sure. English dictionaries put the stress on the first syllable: AZH-er.
SayAZH-er
Often heard
AZ-er
Reading the z as a plain /z/. In azure the z is pronounced /ʒ/, the same sound as the s in measure or vision.
SayAZH-er
Often heard
ah-ZOO-er
Sounding out every letter, which adds an extra syllable and moves the stress. Azure has only two syllables: AZH-er.
SayAZH-er
IN A SENTENCE
Hear Azure in a sentence
The sky over the lake was a clear, bright azure.
Our team moved its databases to Microsoft Azure last year.
In heraldry, azure is the name for the color blue.
PRACTICE
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Reference
Yours
What does Azure mean?
Azure is the bright blue of a clear sky. It works as a noun (the azure of the sea) and as an adjective (azure water), and in poetry it can mean the sky itself. In heraldry, azure is the standard term for the color blue on a coat of arms.
Capitalized, Azure usually means Microsoft Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform. It was announced as Windows Azure at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in October 2008 and renamed Microsoft Azure in 2014. A Microsoft terminology blog post noted that Ray Ozzie, then Chief Software Architect, said it /ˈæʒər/ when he introduced it.
The word reached English in the Middle Ages through Old French azur and Medieval Latin. It goes back to Arabic lāzaward and Persian lāzhuward, the name for lapis lazuli. The opening l was lost because speakers mistook it for a definite article, leaving azur.
FAQ
Azure pronunciation FAQ
The questions people ask most when they look up Azure.
Is it pronounced AZH-er or AY-zher?+
Both appear in dictionaries. AZH-er (/ˈæʒər/) is the most common and is the first pronunciation in Cambridge, Oxford and American dictionaries. AY-zher (/ˈeɪʒər/) is a less common variant that Collins also lists. Either one will be understood.
How does Microsoft pronounce Azure?+
When Microsoft introduced Windows Azure in 2008, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said /ˈæʒər/, according to a Microsoft terminology blog post from that year. That is AZH-er, the same as the usual US pronunciation of the color word.
Do Americans and Brits say azure differently?+
Only slightly. Both stress the first syllable and use the zh sound. Americans finish with an r (/ˈæʒər/), while most British speakers drop it (/ˈæʒə/). British dictionaries also accept AZ-yoor (/ˈæzjʊə/).
Why is the z in azure pronounced like zh?+
The z was once followed by a y sound (z plus yoo). Over time the two blended into /ʒ/, the same change that produced the zh in measure, seizure and closure. The British variant AZ-yoor keeps the older z plus y form.
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