How to pronounce “construe”
Say “construe” in 2 beats
construe
/kənˈstɹu/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kənstɹuː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- conskən
- truestɹustress
- IPA (American)
- /kənˈstɹu/
- IPA (British)
- /kənstɹuː/
- Respelling
- kuhn-STROO
- Syllables
- 2 — cons-TRUE
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: cons-TRUE. “true” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/kənˈstɹu/
/kənstɹuː/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “construe” means
- verb
make sense of; assign a meaning to
“What message do you see in this letter?”
Say it in a sentence
“Do not construe her silence as agreement with the plan.”“construe”, answered
How do you pronounce “construe”?
“construe” is pronounced /kənˈstɹu/ (kuhn-STROO) in American English and /kənstɹuː/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “true”. Build it as cons-TRUE, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “construe” have?
2: cons · true. The beat lands on the second, “true”.
Is “construe” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /kənˈstɹu/ (kuhn-STROO); British English says /kənstɹuː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “construe” mean?
As a verb: make sense of; assign a meaning to For example: “What message do you see in this letter?”
Where is the stress in “construe”?
Stress the second syllable: cons-TRUE. “true” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “construe” 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.