Pronunciation

How to pronounce “conceive

“conceive” is pronounced /kənˈsiv/ (kuhn-SEEV) in American English and /kənsiːv/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “siv”.
The sound

Say “conceive” in 2 beats

Say it like this

conceive

/kənˈsiv/

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

2 beats
  1. kənkən
  2. sivsivstress
IPA (American)
/kənˈsiv/
IPA (British)
/kənsiːv/
Respelling
kuhn-SEEV
Syllables
2 — kən-SIV
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kən-SIV. “siv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kənˈsiv/

British

/kənsiːv/

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

Meaning

What “conceive” means

  1. verb

    have the idea for

    He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients

  2. verb

    judge or regard; look upon; judge

    I think he is very smart

  3. verb

    become pregnant; undergo conception

    She cannot conceive

Say it in a sentence

She first began to conceive the idea on a long walk.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

conceive”, answered

How do you pronounce “conceive”?

“conceive” is pronounced /kənˈsiv/ (kuhn-SEEV) in American English and /kənsiːv/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “siv”. Build it as kən-SIV, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “conceive” have?

2: kən · siv. The beat lands on the second, “siv”.

Is “conceive” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kənˈsiv/ (kuhn-SEEV); British English says /kənsiːv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “conceive” mean?

As a verb: have the idea for For example: “He conceived of a robot that would help paralyzed patients” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “conceive”?

Stress the second syllable: kən-SIV. “siv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “conceive” 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.