Word 513 of 545 · Crazy spellings
How to pronounce purpose
/ˈpɜːpəs/ British English
PUR·pəs
2 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the first one.
a Coloured letters don’t sound the way they look.
✗ Many people say
pur·POSE
✓ Say
PUR·pəs
My tip
pose is just pəs. It doesn’t rhyme with rose!
In a sentence
What is the purpose of your visit?
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: PUR-pəs.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce purpose?
In British English, purpose is pronounced /ˈpɜːpəs/. Say it like this: PUR-pəs. pose is just pəs. It doesn’t rhyme with rose!
How many syllables are in purpose?
When you say it, purpose has 2 syllables: PUR-pəs. The strong beat is the first one, PUR.
More words like this: crazy spellings
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: /ɜː/ as in “bird”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
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