Cockney

Indo-European (West Germanic, English)

FamilyIndo-European (West Germanic, English) Speakers~500K (East London, declining) ScriptLatin CountriesUnited Kingdom (England — East London) Official inNo (regional accent; English is official in the UK) Vitalitysafe

Cockney traditionally refers to working-class speech associated with London’s East End, although both the label and its features now extend beyond that area and vary by speaker, age, ethnicity, and style. The older popular definition connects a Cockney with being born within earshot of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow, but it is cultural folklore rather than a precise linguistic boundary. Common accent features include H-dropping, TH-fronting, T-glottalling, L-vocalization, and distinctive vowel realizations, none of them exclusive to Cockney. Cockney rhyming slang replaces an intended word with a rhyming phrase—for example, plates of meat for feet—and may then omit the rhyming part, producing plates. Recent research describes traditional Cockney features as receding from inner London while persisting or changing in outer London and Essex alongside Multicultural London English.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Cockney

Water

water

ˈwoːʔə

Fire

fire

fɑːə

Sun

sun

sɐn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑː

Night

night

naɪt

Rain

rain

ɹeːn

Snow

snow

snəʊ

Wind

wind

wɪnd

Earth

earth

ɜːθ

Stone

stone

stæʊn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmæːnʔn̩

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmɐvə

Father

father

ˈfɑːvə

Daughter

daughter

ˈdoːʔə

I

I

ɑɪ

You

you

juː

We

we

wiː

Name

name

næɪm

Person

person

ˈpɜːsən

Head

head

hed

Eye

eye

ɑː

Ear

ear

ɪə

Nose

nose

noʊz

Mouth

mouth

mæːθ

Tooth

tooth

tuːθ

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

ænd

Foot

foot

fʊʔ

Heart

heart

ɑːʔ

Bone

bone

bæʊn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poo

puː

Love

love

lɐv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɒɡ

Cat

cat

kæʔ

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɜːd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbɐʔəflaɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛə

Horse

horse

ɔːs

House

house

æːʔs

Milk

milk

mɪwk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

soːlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɒklɪʔ

Iron

iron

ˈɑːən

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪwk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːʔ

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wɐn

Two

two

tʰuː

Three

three

fɹiː

Four

four

fɔː

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

oi

oɪ

Thank you

fanks

fæŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

njuː

Red

red

ɹed

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blæk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɒkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːʔə

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsʉːʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɒfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡə

Orange

orange

ˈɒɹɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdəʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

æt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (West Germanic, English)

Meaning CockneyEstuary EnglishEnglishAustralian EnglishSouth African EnglishGeordieBrummie
Water water /ˈwoːʔə/ water /ˈwɔːʔə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwoːɾə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/
Fire fire /fɑːə/ fire /fɑɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /fɑːə/ fire /fɑɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /fɔɪə/
Sun sun /sɐn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sɐn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʊn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /mʉːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /stɑː/ star /stɑː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɐː/ star /stɑː/ star /staː/ star /staː/
Night night /naɪt/ night /nɑɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /nɑet/ night /nɑɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /nɑɪt/
Rain rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹɛɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹæɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹʌɪn/
Snow snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snɐʉ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Cockney
I wanna try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

Cockney
I wanna try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum që pashë në një dyqan përballë hotelit
Ἐγὼ βούλομαι πειρᾶσθαι ἱμάτιον ὃ εἶδον ἐν καπηλείῳ ἐναντίον τοῦ πανδοκείου
I want to try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel

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