Pronunciation

How to pronounce “dessert

“dessert” is pronounced /dɪˈzɝt/ (dih-ZURT) in American English and /dɪˈzɜːt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sert”.
The sound

Say “dessert” in 2 beats

Say it like this

dessert

/dɪˈzɝt/

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

2 beats
  1. des
  2. sertzɝtstress
IPA (American)
/dɪˈzɝt/
IPA (British)
/dɪˈzɜːt/
Respelling
dih-ZURT
Syllables
2 — des-SERT
Stress
Stress the second syllable: des-SERT. “sert” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈzɝt/

British

/dɪˈzɜːt/

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

Watch out

Where “dessert” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    DEZ-ert

    two s letters, stress on the second syllable: the dry one is DEZ-ert

Meaning

What “dessert” means

  1. noun

    a dish served as the last course of a meal

Say it in a sentence

We were too full to manage dessert after all that bread.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

dessert”, answered

How do you pronounce “dessert”?

“dessert” is pronounced /dɪˈzɝt/ (dih-ZURT) in American English and /dɪˈzɜːt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sert”. Build it as des-SERT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “dessert” have?

2: des · sert. The beat lands on the second, “sert”.

Is “dessert” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈzɝt/ (dih-ZURT); British English says /dɪˈzɜːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “dessert” mean?

As a noun: a dish served as the last course of a meal For example: “We were too full to manage dessert after all that bread.”

Where is the stress in “dessert”?

Stress the second syllable: des-SERT. “sert” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “dessert” 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.