How To Pronounce Brief
brief
UK
Phonemic
/briːf/
Phonetic
[briːf]
US
Phonemic
/briːf/
In British English, brief is pronounced /briːf/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [briːf]. In American English, it is pronounced /briːf/.
Brief has one syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.
Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.
Syllables, Stress And Endings
Syllables And Stress
briːf
Brief has one syllable in British English.
brief + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /s/ after a voiceless consonant.
UK
/briːfs/
US
/briːfs/
brief + -ed
-ed (past tense or past participle) is /t/ after a voiceless consonant.
UK
/briːft/
US
/briːft/
brief + -ing
-ing is always /ɪŋ/.
UK
/ˈbriː.fɪŋ/
US
/ˈbriː.fɪŋ/
brief + -er
-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English.
UK
/ˈbriː.fə/
US
/ˈbriː.fɚ/
brief + -est
-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/.
UK
/ˈbriː.fɪst/
US
/ˈbriː.fɪst/
Words That Rhyme With Brief
Questions About Brief
How do you pronounce brief in British English?
In British English, brief is pronounced /briːf/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [briːf].
How do you pronounce brief in American English?
In American English, brief is pronounced /briːf/.
Do British and American English pronounce brief the same way?
Yes. Both are /briːf/.
Nearby Words
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