How to pronounce “appropriate”
“appropriate” is said two ways
/əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/
uh-PROH-pree-uht
Meaning suitable. Ends in a reduced -uht.
/əˈpɹoʊpɹiˌeɪt/
uh-PROH-pree-ayt
To take something for your own use, or to set funds aside. Ends in -ayt.
Listen for the vowel, not the letters
The spelling never moves; the sounds inside it do. Practise the two back to back, so your mouth stops defaulting to whichever one you learnt first.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Committees appropriate funds once an appropriate case is made.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “appropriate” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the adjective and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “appropriate” in 4 beats
appropriate
/əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/
Everything in this card describes the adjective form. As a verb it is /əˈpɹoʊpɹiˌeɪt/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /əˈpɹəʊpɹɪət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- appə
- roppɹoʊstress
- riatpɹi
- eət
- IPA (American)
- /əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/
- IPA (British)
- /əˈpɹəʊpɹɪət/
- Respelling
- uh-PROH-pree-uht (adjective) · uh-PROH-pree-ayt (verb)
- Syllables
- 4 — app-ROP-riat-e
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: app-ROP-riat-e. “rop” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
This is the adjective form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/
/əˈpɹəʊpɹɪət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “appropriate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“an uh-PROH-pree-ayt reply”
the adjective ends in -uht; only the verb ends in -ayt
What “appropriate” means
- verb
give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
“I will earmark this money for your research”
- verb
take possession of by force, as after an invasion
“the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants”
- adjective
suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc
“a book not appropriate for children”
Say it in a sentence
“Committees appropriate funds once an appropriate case is made.”“appropriate”, answered
How do you pronounce “appropriate”?
“appropriate” has two pronunciations: /əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/ as an adjective and /əˈpɹoʊpɹiˌeɪt/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the sounds inside it do, and nothing on the page tells you which one a sentence wants. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the adjective form. Build it as app-ROP-riat-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “appropriate” have?
4: app · rop · riat · e. The beat lands on the second, “rop”.
Which pronunciation of “appropriate” is correct?
Both are. /əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/ (uh-PROH-pree-uht) as an adjective; /əˈpɹoʊpɹiˌeɪt/ (uh-PROH-pree-ayt) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does, and the two are as different as any two words. Both appear here: “Committees appropriate funds once an appropriate case is made.”
Is “appropriate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈpɹoʊpɹiət/ (uh-PROH-pree-uht); British English says /əˈpɹəʊpɹɪət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “appropriate” mean?
As a verb: give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause For example: “I will earmark this money for your research” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “appropriate”?
Stress the second syllable: app-ROP-riat-e. “rop” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “appropriate” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.