Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 203 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce police
/pəˈliːs/ British English
pə·LEES
2 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the second one.
✗ Many people say
PO·lice
✓ Say
pə·LEES
My tip
Stress the end: pə-LEES.
In a sentence
The police car has blue lights.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: pə-LEES.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce police?
In British English, police is pronounced /pəˈliːs/. Say it like this: pə-LEES. Stress the end: pə-LEES.
How many syllables are in police?
When you say it, police has 2 syllables: pə-LEES. The strong beat is the second one, LEES.
More words like this: the stress trap
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /iː/ as in “sheep”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Word stress setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
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