A Guide to the Liverpool Accent (Scouse)

This is a guide to the accent of Liverpool - Scouse. It's a melting pot of sounds heavily influenced by Irish immigration, Welsh English and Northern English dialects. It's spoken by film star Jodie Comer, footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold and comedian John Bishop. Special thanks to @theredmentv for allowing me to use clips from their channel. If you want more examples of Scouse accents go check it out.
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WANT MORE ENGLISH VIDEOS? 🎥 CHECK THESE OUT:
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Famous Scousers
00:50 History & Geography
01:48 The /K/ sound
03:46 Free Resources
04:03 The /T/ as /H/
05:14 The Tapped /R/
06:03 The /T/ as /TS/
06:54 Free Resources
07:14 The /ɜː/ Sound
08:28 The /H/ Sound
08:40 The /ʊ/ Sound
09:05 The /æ/ Sound
09:41 The /ð/ as /D/
10:06 Intonation
11:07 ACCENT TEST
12:00 Outro
Music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com)

[@saundersdachicken6197]

Have to say as a Dubliner, the Scousers are the best people in the world.

[@mi-moon_]

The first time I went to Liverpool I cried because I thought I couldn't understand English

[@birukdamtew]

Have u tried Geordie yet?

[@zachary_m691]

@@birukdamtew Got to give it to you there, When Newcastle came to Anfield i could not understand them at all. Friendly but quite hard to understand. Scouse is hard even from a scouser it's still hard to understand.

[@carlrose4877]

I'm from Liverpool, and if I don't "tune in" to what I'm listening to, it can seem like a foreign language especially with really thick accents, so don't beat yourself up.

[@wenterinfaer1656]

Because it ain't English

[@signalenergie]

I have been learning English as a non-native speaker since 1981 and the language always surprises me anew with its many words, phrases, and dialects. #OxfordComma

[@emilbayramov5102]

Liverpool has two famous football clubs, Liverpool and Liverpool U19

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ufff that's a burn!!!

[@jennydunn9014]

That's original! Did your tell you that?

[@GK-bs2wu]

I lihe Scouse accent. Beautiful and fantastih.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Nice!

[@luxpursuits]

I love the Scouse accent.

[@sandradowling-horgan4221]

As an Aussie Anglophile and mad Beatles fan, I love this video and the Scouse accent. I did a Beatles tour in Liverpool many years ago, and I hope to go with hubby one day in the future. Such friendly people in Liverpool. Thanks for this interesting video 😊

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Very cool Sandra! I did a video on Paul McCartney's accent too a few years ago. Thanks for your comment and for watching all the way over there in sunny Oz!

[@bastianray6334]

Yes but really none of the Beatles spoke with this kind of accent at all that's why they are not even included in this video , probably because they come from an older generation?

[@bastianray6334]

​@@EatSleepDreamEnglishPaul McCartney never spoke Scouse at all he had a different way of speaking

[@DLtranssexual]

It's my favorite British accent, easier for me to imitate as a Californian.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Really? It's very distinct, isn't it?

[@moncrnn5858]

just dont go into town trying tha accent or else ye will get called a wool

[@salaheldin00]

Brilliant accent, indeed

[@tigradigra]

It's fantastichh, greatchh! Thanks, Tom! I love it!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Glad you like it mate! Thanks for watching

[@lornamarie5544]

Best of all the British accents

[@mohammedumarfarhan9900]

How r u Tom? It's been a long time. I used to follow you religiously back in 2017-20. It's so heartwhelming how ur channel as grown and how u help thousands around the globe to improve their English. Mah u always stay blessed mate

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Awww thanks so much mate, I appreciate you watching back in the day and returning for this video. All the best my friend : )

[@mohammedumarfarhan9900]

@@EatSleepDreamEnglish I must tell you, you helped a lot to improve my pronunciation in British English. Thanks a lot mate for the free education that u had provided.

[@KibyNykraft]

​@@EatSleepDreamEnglishThe tapped r is the spanish,but only in Spain proper and a few other areas (like a part of Colombia). Also the finnish one, and the icelandic. Many other countries have a softer version of it like Poland, Sweden, etc.

[@kanzeon7729]

Scouse is an amazing accent. One of the more richest when it comes to phonetic features and intonation

[@kimika53]

Very well explained. I think I can enjoy this type of accent more than before. Thank you !!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Glad to hear that!

[@brazy1892]

Very well done and informative video!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Glad you liked it mate : )

[@onlymise2758]

A Dubliner here .. I lived in england for a few years . The Pool was the only place I did not continually have to repeat myself .. Big Dub Influence in the scouse accent

[@marysobczak2078]

I love your site, true Scouse accents. I'm from Birkenhead, but have lived in Australia for 50 years. I still have my Scouse accent and proud of it.

[@ju2b295]

Great video as always! Also a fun fact: in Hamburg the local dish is called “Labskaus” which is the same stew that “scouse” originated from. Both cities have important ports so the sailors probably spread the recipe :) same pronunciation but different spelling

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ohhh that's super interesting! I wonder if sailors from Hamburg brought it over to Liverpool. There is also another link between the two great cities: Kevin Keegan.

[@ju2b295]

⁠@@EatSleepDreamEnglishand of course the Beatles gained a lot of fame during their time in Hamburg :)

[@onlyforthecomments]

They also eat lobscouse in Bremen, where it is a bit like corned beef hash - but served with pickled red cabbage or beetroot, just like in Liverpool

[@Isilwern]

I went to uni to Liverpool John Moores. Im Spanish, Asturias. And I love scouse because although sometimes is hard to get.... is really has the same musicality, the ts sound... as my regional language )Bable/Asturian) where we also mix and match Asturian worlds in Castillian. So, this feels like home to me and makes it easier for me to speak English without renouncing my homeland accent. Actually,when I was living there no one believed me when I said I'm Spanish, so imagine!!

[@georgiaemb]

You are amazing. I've only just seen this. I'm having to learn the accent for a audition of Blood Brothers.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ohhh fun! Good luck with the audition. I've got my fingers crossed for you : )

[@journeytothinify]

I absolutely love the Scouse accent!! Could you breakdown the Mancunian one next time? Love that one as well!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Great suggestion! It's another wonder accent : )

[@yenloong151]

Thanks. I love it.

[@amerikawoche8243]

The Bunnymen were my guide growin up.

[@walterhernandez8623]

Fascinating!

[@auldfouter8661]

In the 1960s when I was a child watching Till Death Us Do Part I had no idea what Alf Garnet was saying , when he insulted his son in law. To me it sounded like he was saying " scarse" which isn't a word. What he was actually saying was " scouse git" in a cockney accent with an intrusive R !

[@francescomanetti01]

Hi Tom! Thanks for your work, it's fantastic for English learners like me! I would love to see a video on Gary Lineker accent who's in my opinion a great communicator (with a lovely accent) and one of the leading figures in sports broadcasting

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ohhh that's a really interesting suggestion. He's from Leicester and still has a very soft local accent. You are so right about him being a great communicator : )

[@schummy07]

Fantastic video! I really enjoy it!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Thank you very much my friend! More accent guides to come : )

[@stormede1564]

Best example of the sound of the”k” is the pronunciation of the sweet bar Caramac

[@patriciamcdonald8309]

Love a Scouse accent

[@thekidsfankhauser4991]

Yes love it! thank you so much

[@marthaloamividalperez8738]

When Peter Crouch joined Liverpool, he started to speak like them ❤

[@akmalkhirman563]

Thanks a lot man.... My fav scouse accent is from Paddy Pimblet... When he speaks it's kinda difficult for me to like understand so even know I'm even curious and want to learn a bit of scouse accent

[@SimoneSoccol-zi3db]

Hi Tom, I'm slower getting used to scouse accent because I follow the Champions League Tv show on CBS hosted by Kate Abdo (a Manc but slighlty American as well), Micah Richards (a Brummie) and Jamie Carragher (a Scouser). It' beautiful spotting the differences, even though it's a bit tough... I also think that as an Italian, I have a little advantage in understanding northener accent, beacuse at school they tent to teach RP but actually when reading or speaking we spell all the words with open vowels. In fact the Italian language has many, many wider sounds than english one and in some way we adapt the italian pronunciation to english language. Last but not least, I wish you a merry christmas!🌲

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Thanks for the observations Simone : ) The CBS show sounds like a great way to expose yourself to new accents and Jamie Carragher's Scouse is one of the strongest I've heard on TV. Micah Richards is a Manc btw. All the best, Teacher Tom

[@marqueo7916]

Micah's actually from Leeds! @@EatSleepDreamEnglish

[@SimoneSoccol-zi3db]

​@@EatSleepDreamEnglish No way is he? According to Carragher he's a bit rough and makes fun of him because of that. Actually Carra himself isn't the poshest person in the UK while speaking😂

[@mariomauriciomartin8981]

Great lesson ,liked si much mate,been taught that Liverpool is the most irish city in England

[@denniscain5738]

It's the most Irish city in Ireland

[@mydarwis]

I'm from Malaysia and Liverpool fan. I like this video.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Awesome!

[@fiberofmybeing7869]

I would love to see one on the Yorkshire accent!

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Good shout buddy!

[@zxenon_]

Jamie Carragher has that really heavy scouse accent 😅

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Yeah, good shout! His accent is fantasticchhhh!

[@MatusalemRamosRguez8822]

He's Steven Gerrard.

[@KibyNykraft]

​@@MatusalemRamosRguez8822They turn it off when interviewed by non-Liverpool reporters

[@JoeJigsy]

Great video as always, but at 10:55 surely brummie also frequently has this upward sound?

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Yep, I think you are right mate.

[@revanab-va664]

My fav!!!🥰

[@matthewschwoebel8247]

Geordie. That one was difficult when I visited Newcastle recently.

[@denniscain5738]

I'm ex scouse but I love the Geordie accent Know lots of Georgia's here in BC Very similar personalities as scousers

[@fernandomilicich8160]

Quite difficult, but I love it

[@fnjesusfreak]

The "ts" thing would explain me hearing "suyomo" when others heard "to Jorma" at the beginning of the Beatles' "It's All Too Much". And I've definitely heard the "er" thing, like from John Lennon in "Polythene Pam" - "she's the kind of a gehl who makes the News of the Wehld"

[@ZaniaJ]

Fab Four accent!

[@glennfolau6959]

I have heard George Harrison sing and say "take care", but it sounds more like "take kerr", I don't know if that's a Scouse trait.

[@delivreahanga2322]

Could you consider doing a review on the estuary accent, and why not your own accent? Cheers) I reckon you have a standard southern accent.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

That's a good shout mate, I might just do that at some point in the future. Maybe I should get other teachers to analyse my accent.

[@RichiEnglish]

my 4th favourite UK accent

[@user-oe1bu5qw1w]

Funny case: i heard many times that russian ы-sound is pretty difficult for english speakers, but pal at 2:20 said exactly this sound in the end of the word "fantastic".

[@zxenon_]

Incredible... 😅

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Cheers mate! Glad you enjoyed it : )

[@kareemdjerdjouri2231]

You know this through our instagram chats - I obsessively love the Scouse accent. I literally spent two years leisurely examining each of its features, recording myself, and mimicking it. There are other famous Scousers such as Frank Carlisle and Wayne Rodney. Posting This video first is fittingly conducive to making one about the Mancunian accent, which I recommend posting next. Happy Holidays Lad or as Liverpudlians say in their accent apply oildays la. Sometimes they drops ds at the end of words.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Hehehe love it Kareem! Thanks and glad you liked the video. Mancunian coming soon : )

[@ericmartin3681]

Scouse is the most difficult accent to understand for me… hard to get used to it. Highlanders aren’t easy to understand either.

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Really Eric? What makes it so hard for you?

[@ericmartin3681]

@@EatSleepDreamEnglishI would say the /k/ sound and /t/ as /h/ makes it difficult for me… I need to be listening to it for a while until I get used to it every time.

[@ruwangikasamarasinghe6504]

you should analyse west country accent

[@astraaj435]

Glaswegian please - my daughter lives there for a few years and obviously has got around it but when we visited her this year there was no way I could understand what the lady told us about the rules in the cat cafe as we got there.. I live in Sussex for all 11 years that I am in UK. Around the border between East and West Sussex 😊

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ah that's a great idea. Glaswegian is one of my favourite accents so I'd love to explore its pronunciation features and help you understand your daughter's friends : )

[@jesusdiaz4089]

More of that K sound in different accents. ❤️😍

[@patmcguirk5299]

What about the glottal stop in bottle, kettle, etc?

[@mottahead6464]

Paddy the Baddy is the first who comes to mind.

[@psikodelriot6754]

Here in northern germany, we also have "Labskaus"/"lobscouse" as a meal. Sweden and denmark too, but in other variations. Here Labskaus is mashed potatoes, with grinded beef and root beet/beetroot all mixed together and upon on top that, comes a rolled fish called "Rollmops". 😅😆🤮🤮😅 No joke. In south germany noone knows about Labskaus.😅 Maybe better for them... Cheerz!!

[@luxpursuits]

No Beatles???

[@herrprofessor]

Other celebrities with a Liverpool accent would be late TV hostess and singer Cilla Black as well as comedian Les Dennis (Family Fortunes).

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Ahhh yeah Cilla Black was THE famous Scouse speaker until she passed away. Hearing her say 'lorra lorra love' on Blind Date is a major childhood memory of mine.

[@AdiA976]

Bruh the first ad I got was about Man City 🤣

[@soulman1419]

Born and bred scouser me but don’t understand why anyone wants to learn scouse?? Unless you live in Liverpool what good is it ???

[@willlit]

When I started studying English as a 12-year-old boy, I used to listen to the Beatles a lot. So I would say “werk” instead of “work” 😅😅😅

[@toobatooba5334]

❤❤❤💕

[@3DInnovations70]

It’s so goofy I love it. People make fun of my regions accent all the time so hearing an even sillier one is hilarious to me

[@zc6036]

Please analyze Jude Bellingham's accent

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Such a great idea! He's sooooo cool!

[@zc6036]

@@EatSleepDreamEnglish yes yes yes I thought his accent is an interesting one also he's so well spoken at such a young age + I love your content so I will wait for it :) ♡

[@fernandokuran1636]

So Kostas Tsimikas is the greek scouser so that means he is also from england

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Hehehe does he have a Scouse accent?

[@Dimasshard]

Scouse is the best accent in the werrrrlld

[@mariotabali2603]

What about Book? if it sounds Boo'ch' then it s german Buch

[@roadend78]

Everton a famous football club 😅

[@andresiaw7895]

you forgot to address the..... nyeeeeaaaaahhhhh courseeeeeee........

[@Sukma_dik]

Shadio maney😅😂

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Hehehe that 'Shadio' pron is amazing

[@user-st1hz2pd3p]

Why didn't John and Paul have a scouser accent?

[@andromedacassiopiea]

Tbh trent is not just 50 50 mixed so it depends

[@luxpursuits]

Next week - Geordie

[@luxpursuits]

Wait a second... Scouse is similar to the same singy-songy Trini accent.

[@philipcochran1972]

May i suggest that not all Liverpudlians are Scousers.

[@user-jr3rt9jn5n]

RP pls😢

[@victorcastillo-dx9vh]

I like scouse but difficult to understand

[@guguigugu]

but where exactly is this eponymous pool of liver?

[@guspitasari7027]

Scouse accent sound like Scottish accent. Are they Sibling?

[@Themoonlight2020]

Does the boy speak English

[@user-oe1bu5qw1w]

Yorkshire pronunciation next time, please.

[@gregoryannunziato7698]

Mancunian accent

[@andycodd8096]

John Bishop is not scouse

[@davethefourth]

Stopped listening at the beginning when you pronounced pronunciation "pronounciation" Bit of a stumbling block for an "expert" on accents.

[@KibyNykraft]

I think that is "americanization". It is like aluminum for aluminium

[@EatSleepDreamEnglish]

Your loss mate! It's a bloody good video hehe

[@davethefourth]

@@EatSleepDreamEnglish mmmmm. Yeah. Probably not