How to pronounce “espresso”
Say “espresso” in 3 beats
espresso
/ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- espɛ
- resspɹɛstress
- sosoʊ
- IPA (American)
- /ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/
- IPA (British)
- /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/
- Also accepted
- /ˌɛkˈspɹɛˌsoʊ/
- Respelling
- eh-SPRESS-oh
- Syllables
- 3 — esp-RES-so
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: esp-RES-so. “res” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/
/ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “espresso” goes wrong
- Often heard
“EX-presso”/ɛkˈspɹɛsoʊ/
there is no x in the word: it begins es-, not ex-
What “espresso” means
- noun
strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans
Say it in a sentence
“He drinks one espresso after lunch and nothing else all day.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“espresso”, answered
How do you pronounce “espresso”?
“espresso” is pronounced /ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/ (eh-SPRESS-oh) in American English and /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/ in British English, and /ˌɛkˈspɹɛˌsoʊ/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “res”. Build it as esp-RES-so, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “espresso” have?
3: esp · res · so. The beat lands on the second, “res”.
Is “espresso” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɛˈspɹɛsoʊ/ (eh-SPRESS-oh); British English says /ɛˈspɹɛsəʊ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “espresso” mean?
As a noun: strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans For example: “He drinks one espresso after lunch and nothing else all day.”
Where is the stress in “espresso”?
Stress the second syllable: esp-RES-so. “res” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “espresso” 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.