Heteronym (linguistics)#French

A heteronym is a homograph that is not a homophone, a word that has a different pronunciation and meaning from another word with the same spelling. Heteronym pronunciation may vary in vowel realisation, in stress pattern, or in other ways.

"Heterophone" literally just means "different sound", and this term is sometimes applied to words that are just pronounced differently, irrespective of their spelling. Such a definition would include virtually every pair of words in the language, so "heterophone" in this sense is normally restricted to instances where there is some particular reason to highlight the different sound. For example, puns normally involve homophones, but in the case of heterophonic (or imperfect) puns, the two words sound different, and yet similar enough for one to suggest the other (for example, mouth and mouse).

Most heteronyms are doubles. Triple heteronyms are extremely rare in English; three examples, sin, mobile and does, are listed below.

Proper nouns can sometimes be heteronyms. For example, the final syllable in the US state of Oregon is pronounced {{IPAc-en|-|ə|n}} (or {{IPAc-en|-|ɪ|n}}), while in the name of the village of Oregon in Wisconsin, the final syllable is pronounced {{IPAc-en|-|ɒ|n}}. Other examples include local pronunciations of Cairo, Georgia; Versailles, Kentucky; and Milan, Tennessee—compared to the more well-known Cairo, Versailles, and Milan—or the difference between the pronunciation of Louisville, Kentucky ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|ə|v|əl}}) and the town of Louisville, New York ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|uː|ɪ|s|v|ɪ|l}}).

There are also pairs which ignore case and include both initialisms and regular words, e.g., US and us.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}

Heteronyms also occur in non-alphabetic languages. For example, 20% of the 2400 most common Chinese characters have multiple readings;{{Cite web |date=2024-07-10 |title=Common Heteronyms In Chinese |url=https://chinesevoyage.org/common-heteronyms-in-chinese/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=chinesevoyage.org |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=Swofford |first=Mark |date=2010 |title=Chinese Characters with Multiple Pronunciations |url=http://www.pinyin.info/chinese_characters/ |access-date=4 July 2016 |website=Pinyin.info |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Xiao-lei |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_XRCgAAQBAJ&dq=chinese+heteronyms&pg=PA64 |title=Maintaining Three Languages: The Teenage Years |date=2015-10-22 |publisher=Multilingual Matters |isbn=978-1-78309-448-6 |page=64 |language=en}} e.g., 行 can represent háng 'profession' or xíng 'OK'. In Arabic, vowels are normally not written, leading to ambiguous written words such as <كتب> /ktb/, which can be read /kataba/ 'he wrote', /kutubun/ 'books', or /kutiba/ 'it was written';{{Cite journal |last1=Grosvald |first1=Michael |last2=Al-Alami |first2=Sarah |last3=Idrissi |first3=Ali |date=2019 |title=Word Reading in Arabic: Influences of Diacritics and Ambiguity |journal=Proceedings of the 36th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics |pages=176}} it is unclear whether these should be considered heteronyms, since they are unambiguous when fully vocalized.

In some of these cases, American and British English pronunciations differ. One systematic case appears in the stress pattern of some deverbal nouns. Many of these words have the same origin, and similar meanings, and are essentially the same word. True heteronyms require the two words to be completely unrelated, which is a rare occurrence.

For a longer list, see wikt:Category:English heteronyms.

| verb

| To lessen

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|i:||k|r|iː|s}}

| noun

| A diminution

|-

|rowspan="2"| defense

| {{IPAc-en|d|ɪ|ˈ|f|ɛ|n|s}}

| noun

| The attorney gave a strong defense.

|-

| {{IPAc-en|'|d|i:|f|ɛ|n|s}}

| noun

| The coach put out his best defense. (dialectal, used in sports contexts)

|-

|rowspan="2"| desert

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|z|ər|t}}

| noun

| an arid region

|-

| {{IPAc-en|d|ᵻ|ˈ|z|ɜːr|t}}

| verb

| to abandon

|-

|rowspan="2"|discard

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɪ|s|k|ɑːr|d}}

|noun

| Toss it in the discard pile.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|d|ɪ|s|ˈ|k|ɑːr|d}}

|verb

|But I don't want to discard it!

|-

|rowspan="2"|do

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|uː}}, {{IPAc-en|d|ə}}

|verb

|What do you think you are doing?

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|oʊ}}

|noun

|To warm-up, the singer sang the scale from do.

|-

|rowspan="3"| does

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|oʊ|z}}

| noun

| pl. of doe

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ʌ|z}}

| verb

| form of do

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|uː|z}}

| noun

| one spelling of the plural of do as a noun{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} - e.g. hair does

|-

|rowspan="2"|dogged

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɒ|ɡ|d}}

|verb

|At night proctors patrolled the street and dogged your steps if you tried to go into any haunt where the presence of vice was suspected. (Samuel Butler, The Way of All Flesh)

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɒ|ɡ|ᵻ|d}}

|adjective

|Still, the dogged obstinacy of his race held him to the pace he had set, and would hold him till he dropped in his tracks. (Jack London, The Son of the Wolf)

|-

|rowspan="2"| dove

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ʌ|v}}

| noun

| a bird

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|oʊ|v}}

| verb

| Mainly American past tense of dive

|-

|rowspan="2"|ellipses

|{{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|l|ɪ|p|s|ᵻ|z}}

|noun

|Plural of ellipse

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ᵻ|ˈ|l|ɪ|p|s|iː|z}}

|noun

|Plural of ellipsis

|-

|rowspan="2"| entrance

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|n|t|r|ə|n|s}}

| noun

| way in

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ɛ|n|ˈ|t|r|æ|n|s|,|ɪ|n|-|ˈ|,|-|t|r|ɑː|n|s}}

| verb

| to delight

|-

|rowspan="2"|excuse

| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|k|ˈ|s|k|j|uː|s|,_|ɛ|k|ˈ|-}}

|noun

|explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|k|ˈ|s|k|j|uː|z|,_|ɛ|k|ˈ|-}}

|verb

|to forgive; to pardon

|-

|rowspan="2"| exploit

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|k|s|p|l|ɔɪ|t}}

| noun

| a heroic or extraordinary deed

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ɛ|k|s|'|p|l|ɔɪ|t}}

| verb

| to make use of or take advantage of

|-

|rowspan="2"| house

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aʊ|s}}

| noun

| a residential building

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|aʊ|z}}

| verb

| to place in residence

|-

|rowspan="2"| incense

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|s|ɛ|n|s}}

|noun

|Dad, I bought this incense at the temple.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|s|ɛ|n|s}}

|verb

|Big mistake. If you burn it here, you'll incense your mother.

|-

|rowspan="2"| increase

| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|k|r|iː|s}}

| verb

| To get greater

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|k|r|iː|s}}

| noun

| An augmentation

|-

|rowspan="2"| intimate

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|t|ᵻ|m|eɪ|t}}

| verb

| to suggest

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|t|ᵻ|m|ə|t}}

| adjective

| very close

|-

|rowspan="2"| invalid

| {{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|v|æ|l|ᵻ|d}}

| adjective

| incorrect

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|v|ə|l|ᵻ|d}}

| noun

| a disabled person

|-

|rowspan="2"| laminate

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|m|ᵻ|n|eɪ|t}}

| verb

| to assemble from thin sheets glued together

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|m|ᵻ|n|ə|t}}

| noun

| material formed of thin sheets glued together

|-

|rowspan="2"| lead

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|d}}

| verb

| to guide

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɛ|d}}

| noun

| a metal

|-

|rowspan="2"| learned

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɜːr|n|ᵻ|d}}

| adjective

| having much learning

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɜːr|n|d}}

| verb

| past tense of learn

|-

|rowspan="3"| lima/Lima

|rowspan="2"| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|aɪ|m|ə}}

|noun or attributive

|A vegetable

|-

|proper noun

|A city in Ohio, United States

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|m|ə}}

|proper noun

|The capital city of Peru

|-

|rowspan="2"| live

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|v}}

| verb

| to be alive

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|aɪ|v}}

| adjective

| having life

|-

|rowspan="2"| merchandise

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜːr|tʃ|ə|n|d|aɪ|s}}

| noun

| goods available for sale

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜːr|tʃ|ə|n|d|aɪ|z}}

| verb

| to make (something) available for sale

|-

|rowspan="2"| minute

| {{IPAc-en|m|aɪ|ˈ|nj|uː|t}}

| adjective

| small

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɪ|n|ə|t}}

| noun

| unit of time

|-

|rowspan="2"| moped

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|p|ɛ|d}}

| noun

| a small motorcycle

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|p|t}}

|verb

| past tense of mope

|-

|rowspan="2"| mow

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|aʊ}}

| noun

| a stack of hay, or the part of a barn where hay is stored

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ}}

|verb

| To cut something (especially grass or crops) down or knock down

|-

|rowspan="2"| multiply

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʌ|l|t|ᵻ|p|l|aɪ}}

| verb

| to increase

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʌ|l|t|ᵻ|p|l|i}}

| adverb

| in multiple ways

|-

|rowspan="2"| number

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ʌ|m|b|ər}}

| noun

| a numeral

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ʌ|m|ər}}

| adjective

| more numb

|-

|rowspan="2"| object

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|b|dʒ|ᵻ|k|t}}

| noun

| a thing

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ə|b|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|k|t}}

| verb

| to protest

|-

|rowspan="2"|overall

|{{IPAc-en|oʊ|v|ər|ˈ|ɔː|l}}

|adjective

|Overall, we didn't do too badly.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|oʊ|v|ər|ɔː|l}}

|noun

|I need new overalls.

|-

|rowspan="2"|periodic

|{{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɪər|i|'|ɒ|d|ɪ|k}}

|adjective

| Temperature shows periodic variation.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|p|ɜːr|ˈ|aɪ|ɒ|d|ɪ|k}}

|adjective

|Periodic acid is an oxoacid of iodine.

|-

|rowspan="3"| present

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|ᵻ|ˈ|z|ɛ|n|t}}

| verb

| to reveal

|-

|rowspan="2"| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɛ|z|ə|n|t}}

| noun

| a gift; the current moment

|-

| adjective

| existing in the immediate vicinity (e.g. Santa is present.)

|-

|rowspan="2"| primer

| AmE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɪ|m|ər}}, BrE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|aɪ|m|ər}}

| noun

| book that covers the basic elements of a subject

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|aɪ|m|ər}}

| noun

| an undercoat of paint

|-

|rowspan="2"| proceeds

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|oʊ|s|iː|d|z}}

| noun

| revenue

|-

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|ə|ˈ|s|iː|d|z}}

| verb

| Third person singular of the verb "proceed"

|-

|rowspan="2"| produce

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|oʊ-|ˈ|dj|uː|s}}

| verb

| to make

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|oʊ|dj|uː|s}}

| noun

| fruit and vegetables

|-

|rowspan="2"| progress

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|ə|ˈ|ɡ|r|ɛ|s}}

| verb

| I hope things will progress faster.

|-

| AmE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɒ|ɡ|r|ɛ|s}}, BrE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|oʊ|ɡ|r|ɛ|s}}

| noun

| I haven't made any progress.

|-

|rowspan="2"| project

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|ɒ|dʒ|ᵻ|k|t}}

| noun

| an undertaking

|-

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|oʊ-|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|k|t}}

| verb

| to cast an image

|-

|rowspan="2"| protest

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|oʊ-|t|ɛ|s|t}}

| noun

| an organized event opposing something

|-

| {{IPAc-en|p|r|oʊ-|ˈ|t|ɛ|s|t}}

| verb

| to vociferously object

|-

|rowspan="2"| putting

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ʊ|t|ɪ|ŋ}}

| verb

| pr. part. of to put

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ʌ|t|ɪ|ŋ}}

| verb

| pr. part. of to putt

|-

|rowspan="2"|ragged

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|æ|ɡ|d}}

|verb

|She ragged on me about my ragged jeans.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|æ|ɡ|ᵻ|d}}

|adjective

|But my ragged jeans are my trademark, I responded.

|-

|rowspan="2"| read

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|d}}

| verb

| present tense

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|d}}

| verb

| past tense

|-

|rowspan="2"| rebel

| {{IPAc-en|r|ᵻ|ˈ|b|ɛ|l}}

| verb

| to resist

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|b|əl}}

| noun

| one who rebels

|-

|rowspan="2"| record

| AmE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|k|ər|d}}, BrE {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|k|ɔːr|d}}

| noun

| stored information

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|ᵻ|ˈ|k|ɔːr|d}}

| verb

| to make a record

|-

|rowspan="2"| recreate

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|k|r|i|eɪ|t}}

| verb

| to relax by leisure activity

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˌ|r|iː|k|r|i|ˈ|eɪ|t}}

| verb

| to give new life or create again (some style guides specify a hyphen for this sense, to increase clarity: re-create)

|-

| rowspan="2" |refund

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|f|ʌ|n|d}}

|noun

|an amount of money that is given back to you if you are not satisfied with the goods or services that you have paid for

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|ɪ|ˈ|f|ʌ|n|d}}

|verb

|to give someone their money back

|-

|rowspan="2"| refuse

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|f|j|uː|s}}

| noun

| garbage

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|ᵻ|ˈ|f|j|uː|z}}

| verb

| to decline

|-

| rowspan="2" |reject

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|dʒ|ɛ|k|t}}

|noun

|a product that has been rejected because there is something wrong with it

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|ɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|k|t}}

|verb

|to refuse to accept, believe in, or agree with something

|-

|rowspan="2"| resign

| {{IPAc-en|r|ᵻ|ˈ|z|aɪ|n}}

| verb

| 1. to quit 2. to accept that something undesirable cannot be avoided

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|iː|ˈ|s|aɪ|n}}

| verb

| to sign again; re-sign

|-

|rowspan="2"| resume

| {{IPAc-en|r|ᵻ|ˈ|zj|uː|m}}

| verb

| to start again

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|zj|ᵿ|m|eɪ}}

| noun

| curriculum vitae (sometimes distinguished with acute accents; résumé)

|-

|rowspan="2"| retreat

| {{IPAc-en|r|ɪ|ˈ|t|r|iː|t}}

| verb

| to fall back from a battle front

|-

| {{IPAc-en|r|iː|ˈ|t|r|iː|t}}

| verb

| to treat again (some style guides specify a hyphen for this sense, to increase clarity: re-treat)

|-

|rowspan="2"|root

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|uː|t}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ʊ|t}})

|noun

|The tree's root was rotted.

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|uː|t}}

|verb

|A pig can be trained to root for mushrooms.

|-

|rowspan="2"| row

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ}}

| noun, verb

| a line; to paddle a boat

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|aʊ}}

| noun

| an argument

|-

|rowspan="2"| sake

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|eɪ|k}}

| noun

| benefit

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɑː|k|i}}

| noun

| rice wine

|-

|rowspan="2"| second

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|k|ə|n|d}}

|adjective, noun, verb

|ordinal of "two", 1/60 of a minute, to endorse a motion

|-

|{{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|k|ɒ|n|d}}

|verb

|to transfer temporarily to an alternative employment

|-

|rowspan="2"| separate

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|p|ər|ə|t}}

|adjective

|This should be divided into packets of ten cartridges each, which should be rolled up in flannel and hermetically sealed in separate tin canisters. (Samuel W. Baker, The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia)

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|p|ər|eɪ|t}}

|verb

|To stalk these wary antelopes I was obliged to separate from my party, who continued on their direct route. (Samuel W. Baker, The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia)

|-

|rowspan="2"| sewer

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|sj|uː|ər}}

| noun

| drainage pipes

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|oʊ|.|ər}}

| noun

| one who sews

|-

|rowspan="2"| shower

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|aʊ|.|ər}}

| noun

| precipitation

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|oʊ|.|ər}}

| noun

| one who shows

|-

|rowspan="3"| sin/Sin

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|n}}

| noun

| a moral error

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aɪ|n}}

| noun

| abbrev. for sine

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|n}}

| noun

| Sumerian god of the moon; Arabic letter

|-

|rowspan="3"| slough

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|l|ʌ|f}}

| verb

| to shed

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|l|uː}}

| noun

| a small waterway

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|l|aʊ}}

| proper noun

| a town in Berkshire

|-

|rowspan="2"| sow

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|oʊ}}

| verb

| to plant seeds

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aʊ}}

| noun

| a mature female in the swine species

|-

|rowspan="2"| subject

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ʌ|b|dʒ|ᵻ|k|t}}

| noun

| a topic

|-

| {{IPAc-en|s|ə|b|ˈ|dʒ|ɛ|k|t}}

| verb

| to cause to undergo

|-

|rowspan="3"| supposed

| {{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|z|(|ɪ|)|d}}

| adjective

| being assumed to be

|-

| {{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|s|t}}

| verb

| obliged to do

|-

| {{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|p|oʊ|z|d}}

| verb

| past sense of suppose

|-

|rowspan="2"| tarry

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|æ|r|i}}

| verb

| to linger

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɑː|r|i}}

| adjective

| similar to tar

|-

|rowspan="2"| tear

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɪər}}

| noun

| liquid produced by crying

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛər}}

| verb, noun

| to separate

|-

|rowspan="2"|tier

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɪər}}

|noun

| level or rank

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|aɪ|.|ər}}

|noun

| one who ties

|-

|rowspan="2"| transfer

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|æ|n|s|f|ər}}

| noun

| a movement of something from one place to another

|-

| {{IPAc-en|t|r|æ|n|s|ˈ|f|ɜːr}}

| verb

| to move something from one place to another (the verb can be accented on either syllable)

|-

|rowspan="2"| use

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|uː|s}}

| noun

| function, benefit

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|uː|z}}

| verb

| employ, utilize

|-

|rowspan="2"| unionized

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|uː|n|i|ə|n|aɪ|z|d}}

| adjective

| formed into a union

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ʌ|n|ˈ|aɪ|ə|n|aɪ|z|d}}

| adjective

| not ionized (some style guides specify a hyphen for this sense, to increase clarity: un-ionized)

|-

|rowspan="2"|whoop

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|hw|ʊ|p}}

|verb

|Pa says he's gonna whoop you good if you don't learn some manners!

|-

|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|hw|uː|p}}

|verb

|When they scored a goal, he began to whoop and holler.

|-

|rowspan="2"| wicked

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɪ|k|ᵻ|d}}

| adjective

| bad, evil

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɪ|k|t}}

| verb

| past tense of wick (e.g. to wick away some liquid)

|-

|rowspan="2"| wind

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɪ|n|d}}

| noun

| air movement

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|aɪ|n|d}}

| verb

| to tighten a mechanical spring

|-

|rowspan="2"| wound

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|aʊ|n|d}}

| verb

| past tense of wind (e.g. tightened a mechanical spring)

|-

| {{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|uː|n|d}}

| noun, verb

| an injury

|}

In French, most heteronyms result from certain endings being pronounced differently in verbs and nouns. In particular, -ent as a third person plural verb ending is silent while as an adjective ending, it is pronounced {{IPA|fr|ɑ̃|IPA}}.

| verb

| they pour in

|-

| {{IPA|fr|aflɥɑ̃|}}

| noun

| a tributary of a river

|-

|rowspan="2"|as

| {{IPA|fr|ɑ|}}

| verb

| you have

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɑs|}}

| noun

| an ace

|-

|rowspan="2"|bout

| {{IPA|fr|bu|}}

| noun

| length

|-

| {{IPA|fr|but|}}

| noun

| rope (in nautical usage)

|-

|rowspan="2"|content

| {{IPA|fr|kɔ̃t|}}

| verb

| they recount

|-

| {{IPA|fr|kɔ̃tɑ̃|}}

| adjective

| happy

|-

|rowspan="2"|convient

| {{IPA|fr|kɔ̃vi|}}

| verb

| they invite

|-

| {{IPA|fr|kɔ̃vjɛ̃|}}

| verb

| it is suitable

|-

|rowspan="2"|couvent

| {{IPA|fr|kuv|}}

| verb

| they brood (eggs)

|-

| {{IPA|fr|kuvɑ̃|}}

| noun

| a convent

|-

|rowspan="2"|éditions

| {{IPA|fr|editjɔ̃|}}

| verb

| we edited

|-

| {{IPA|fr|edisjɔ̃|}}

| noun

| publications

|-

|rowspan="2"|est

| {{IPA|fr|ɛ|}}

| verb

| he/she is

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɛst|}}

| noun

| the East

|-

|rowspan="2"|excellent

| {{IPA|fr|ɛksɛl|}}

| verb

| they excel

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɛksɛlɑ̃|}}

| adjective

| excellent

|-

|rowspan="2"|expédient

| {{IPA|fr|ɛkspedi|}}

| verb

| they send

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɛkspedjɑ̃|}}

| noun

| an expedient

|-

|rowspan="2"|fier

| {{IPA|fr|fje|}}

| verb

| to trust

|-

| {{IPA|fr|fjɛʁ|}}

| adjective

| proud

|-

|rowspan="2"|fils

| {{IPA|fr|fis|}}

| noun

| son, sons

|-

| {{IPA|fr|fil|}}

| noun

| wires

|-

|rowspan="2"|négligent

| {{IPA|fr|neɡliʒ|}}

| verb

| they neglect

|-

| {{IPA|fr|neɡliʒɑ̃|}}

| adjective

| negligent

|-

|rowspan="2"|objections

| {{IPA|fr|ɔbʒektjɔ̃|}}

| verb

| we objected

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɔbʒeksjɔ̃|}}

| noun

| objections

|-

|rowspan="2"|oignons

| {{IPA|fr|waɲɔ̃|}}

| verb

| we anoint

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ɔɲɔ̃|}}

| noun

| onions{{efn|The official spelling since 1990 is {{lang|fr|ognon}}, but {{lang|fr|oignon}} is still more widely-used.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lalanguefrancaise.com/orthographe/oignon-ou-ognon|title=« Oignon » ou « ognon » ? [orthographe] | La langue française |date=21 December 2018|website=La langue française}}}}

|-

|rowspan="2"|parent

| {{IPA|fr|paʁ|}}

| verb

| they adorn

|-

| {{IPA|fr|paʁɑ̃|}}

| noun

| parent

|-

|rowspan="2"|plus

| {{IPA|fr|plys|}}

| adverb

| more

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ply|}}

| adverb

| no more

|-

|rowspan="2"|portions

| {{IPA|fr|pɔʁtjɔ̃|}}

| verb

| we carried

|-

| {{IPA|fr|pɔʁsjɔ̃|}}

| noun

| portions

|-

|rowspan="2"|relations

| {{IPA|fr|ʁəlatjɔ̃|}}

| verb

| we recounted

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ʁəlɑsjɔ̃|}}

| noun

| relations

|-

|rowspan="2"|résident

| {{IPA|fr|ʁezid|}}

| verb

| they reside

|-

| {{IPA|fr|ʁezidɑ̃|}}

| noun

| resident

|-

|rowspan="2"|violent

| {{IPA|fr|vjɔl|}}

| verb

| they violate

|-

| {{IPA|fr|vjɔlɑ̃|}}

| adjective

| violent

|-

|rowspan="2"|vis

| {{IPA|fr|vi|}}

| verb

| I live, I saw (present)

|-

| {{IPA|fr|vis|}}

| noun

| screw, screws

|}

{{notelist}}

Modern Greek spelling is largely unambiguous, but there are a few cases where a word has distinct learned and vernacular meaning and pronunciation, despite having the same root, and where is pronounced {{IPA|/ja/}} vs. {{IPA|/i.a/}};David Holton, Peter Mackridge, Irene Philippaki-Warburton, Vassilios Spyropoulos, Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language, 2nd edition, 2012, {{isbn|1136626387}}, p. 11 Some of these distinctions are being neutralized in modern speech.Nick Nicholas, "The hiatus of διαζύγιο 'divorce'", Ἡλληνιστεύκοντος: Set Union of Greek and Linguistics (blog), [http://hellenisteukontos.opoudjis.net/the-hiatus-of-%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%B6%CF%8D%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%BF-divorce/ 5 January 2011]

| adjective

| empty

|-

| {{IPA|el|ˈaði.a|}}

| noun

| leave, day off

|-

|rowspan="2"|{{lang|el|βεντέτα}}

| {{IPA|el|venˈdeta|}}

| noun

| vendetta

|-

| {{IPA|el|veˈdeta|}}

| noun

| star (artist)

|-

|rowspan="2"|{{lang|el|βιάζω}}

| {{IPA|el|ˈvʝazo|}}

| verb

| I hasten

|-

| {{IPA|el|viˈazo|}}

| verb

| I rape

|-

|rowspan="2"|{{lang|el|καμπάνα}}

| {{IPA|el|kamˈbana|}}

| noun

| bell

|-

| {{IPA|el|kaˈbana|}}

| noun

| cabana

|-

|rowspan="2"|{{lang|el|λόγια}}

| {{IPA|el|ˈloʝa|}}

| noun

| words

|-

| {{IPA|el|ˈloʝi.a|}}

| adjective

| learnèd

|}

Italian spelling is largely unambiguous, althouɡh there are some exceptions:

• open and closed {{angbr|e}} and {{angbr|o}} ({{IPA|/ɛ, e/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ, o/}}) are not distinguished;
• the voiced and unvoiced pronunciations of {{angbr|s}} and {{angbr|z}} ({{IPA|/s, z/}} and {{IPA|/ts, dz/}}) are not distinguished;
• stress, which is usually but not always on the penult, is not marked except when it is on the final syllable;
• in some cases, digraphs and trigraphs like {{angbr|sci}} ({{IPA|/ʃ(i)/}}), {{angbr|ci}} ({{IPA|/tʃ(i)/}}), {{angbr|gi}} ({{IPA|/dʒ(i)/}}), {{angbr|gli}} ({{IPA|/ʎ(i)/}}) are pronounced using the values of their component letters;{{dubious|date=May 2021}}{{Example needed|date=July 2021}}
• {{angbr|i}} and {{angbr|u}} may have a vocalic ({{IPA|/i, u/}}) or a consonantal ({{IPA|/j, w/}}) value.{{Example needed|date=July 2021}}

When stress is on the final, the vowel is written with an accent: mori 'mulberries' and morì 'he/she died'. Some monosyllabic words are also differentiated with an accent: e {{IPA|/e/}} 'and' and è {{IPA|/ɛ/}} 'he/she is'. These cases are not heteronyms.

Some common cases:John J. Kinder, Vincenzo M. Savini, Using Italian: A Guide to Contemporary Usage, 2004, {{isbn|0521485568}}, pp. 83–87

|noun

|race, breed

|-

|{{IPA|it|ˈraddza|}}

|noun

|ray, skate (fish)

|}

Dutch has heteronyms which vary in stress position, known as [https://nl.wiktionary.org/wiki/klemtoonhomogram klemtoonhomogramen] 'stress homograms', such as appel: {{IPA|nl|ˈɑpəl|}} 'apple' vs. {{IPA|nl|ɑˈpɛl|}} 'appeal' (formerly written appèl). Other examples include beamen, bedelen, hockeyster, kantelen, misdadiger, overweg, verspringen, verwerpen.

The word plant is generally pronounced {{IPA|nl|plɑnt|}}, but may be pronounced {{IPA|nl|plɛnt|}} in the sense 'he/she plans'.

German has few heteronyms, for example:Tatjana Lackner, "Homographe", Die Schule des Sprechens, 12 January 2018, [https://www.sprechen.com/homograph/]

• Some vary in stress position: umfahren 'to knock down' vs. umfahren 'to bypass'; übersetzen 'to translate' vs. übersetzen 'to traverse'; Spiegelei 'fried egg' vs. Spiegelei 'mirroring'.
• Some are compounded differently: Staubecken as Stau-becken vs. Staub-Ecken or Wachstube as 'Wach-stube' vs. 'Wachs-tube'; etc.
• Several are borrowings: modern 'to molder' (derived from Moder) vs. modern 'modern' (borrowed from French) or Montage 'Mondays' vs. Montaĝe 'mounting, installing, assembling' (the latter borrowed from French).

• Homograph
• Homonym
• Synonym
• Shibboleth

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heteronym (Linguistics)}}

Category:Types of words

Category:Homonymy