Pronunciation

How to pronounce “gourmet

“gourmet” is pronounced /ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/ (goor-MAY) in American English and /ˈɡʊəmeɪ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “gour”.
The sound

Say “gourmet” in 2 beats

Say it like this

gourmet

/ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/

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

2 beats
  1. gourɡʊɹstress
  2. metmeɪ
IPA (American)
/ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/
IPA (British)
/ˈɡʊəmeɪ/
Respelling
goor-MAY
Syllables
2 — GOUR-met
Stress
Stress the first syllable: GOUR-met. “gour” 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

/ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/

British

/ˈɡʊəmeɪ/

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

Watch out

Where “gourmet” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    GORE-met

    the t is silent and the first vowel is oo: goor-MAY

Meaning

What “gourmet” means

  1. noun

    a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)

Say it in a sentence

The little café serves gourmet food at very ordinary prices.
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

gourmet”, answered

How do you pronounce “gourmet”?

“gourmet” is pronounced /ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/ (goor-MAY) in American English and /ˈɡʊəmeɪ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “gour”. Build it as GOUR-met, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “gourmet” have?

2: gour · met. The beat lands on the first, “gour”.

Is “gourmet” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɡʊɹˈmeɪ/ (goor-MAY); British English says /ˈɡʊəmeɪ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “gourmet” mean?

As a noun: a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink) For example: “The little café serves gourmet food at very ordinary prices.”

Where is the stress in “gourmet”?

Stress the first syllable: GOUR-met. “gour” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “gourmet” 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.