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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “appreciate”

“appreciate” is pronounced /əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/ (uh-PREE-shee-ayt) in American English and /ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rec”.
The sound

Say “appreciate” in 4 beats

Say it like this

appreciate

/əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. appə
  2. recpɹistress
  3. iatʃi
  4. eeɪt
IPA (American)
/əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/
Respelling
uh-PREE-shee-ayt
Syllables
4 — app-REC-iat-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: app-REC-iat-e. “rec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/

British

/ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “appreciate” means

  1. verb

    recognize with gratitude; be grateful for

  2. verb

    be fully aware of; realize fully

    “Do you appreciate the full meaning of this letter?”

  3. verb

    hold dear

    “I prize these old photographs”

Say it in a sentence

“I appreciate how much work went into this report.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
əschwappɹrilong e×2ʃsheɪlong att

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“appreciate”, answered

How do you pronounce “appreciate”?

“appreciate” is pronounced /əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/ (uh-PREE-shee-ayt) in American English and /ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rec”. Build it as app-REC-iat-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “appreciate” have?

4: app · rec · iat · e. The beat lands on the second, “rec”.

Is “appreciate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈpɹiʃiˌeɪt/ (uh-PREE-shee-ayt); British English says /ɐpɹiːʃɪeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “appreciate” mean?

As a verb: recognize with gratitude; be grateful for For example: “I appreciate how much work went into this report.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “appreciate”?

Stress the second syllable: app-REC-iat-e. “rec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “appreciate” and see every sound

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