How To Pronounce Despair

despair

Phonemic

/dɪˈspeə/

Phonetic

[dɪˈspeəʴ]

Phonemic

/dɪˈsper/

In British English, despair is pronounced /dɪˈspeə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [dɪˈspeəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /dɪˈsper/.

Despair has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the second syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

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

dɪspeə

Despair has two syllables in British English, and the main stress is on the second syllable, shown in colour above. Its stress pattern is oO, where O is the stressed syllable.

despair + -s

-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/dɪˈspeəz/

/dɪˈsperz/

despair + -ed

-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/dɪˈspeəd/

/dɪˈsperd/

despair + -ing

-ing is always /ɪŋ/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/dɪˈspeə.rɪŋ/

/dɪˈsper.ɪŋ/

Words That Rhyme With Despair

Questions About Despair

How do you pronounce despair in British English?

In British English, despair is pronounced /dɪˈspeə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [dɪˈspeəʴ].

How do you pronounce despair in American English?

In American English, despair is pronounced /dɪˈsper/.

How many syllables are in despair?

Despair has two syllables, /dɪ/ + /speə/.

Where is the stress in despair?

The main stress is on the second syllable, /speə/.

Do British and American English pronounce despair the same way?

No. British English has /dɪˈspeə/ and American English has /dɪˈsper/.

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Other Words With The Stress Pattern oO

Nearby Words

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