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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “paper”

“paper” is pronounced /ˈpeɪpɚ/ (PAY-puh) in American English and /peɪpə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “pap”.
The sound

Say “paper” in 2 beats

Say it like this

paper

/ˈpeɪpɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. pappeɪstress
  2. erpɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈpeɪpɚ/
IPA (British)
/peɪpə/
Respelling
PAY-puh
Syllables
2 — PAP-er
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PAP-er. “pap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpeɪpɚ/

British

/peɪpə/

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

Meaning

What “paper” means

  1. noun

    a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses

  2. noun

    an essay (especially one written as an assignment)

    “he got an A on his composition”

  3. noun

    a daily or weekly publication on folded sheets; contains news and articles and advertisements

    “he read his newspaper at breakfast”

Say it in a sentence

“She wrapped the gift in plain brown paper.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 sounds, in the order you say them
pp×2eɪlong aɚschwa

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

Questions

“paper”, answered

How do you pronounce “paper”?

“paper” is pronounced /ˈpeɪpɚ/ (PAY-puh) in American English and /peɪpə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “pap”. Build it as PAP-er, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “paper” have?

2: pap · er. The beat lands on the first, “pap”.

Is “paper” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpeɪpɚ/ (PAY-puh); British English says /peɪpə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “paper” mean?

As a noun: a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses For example: “She wrapped the gift in plain brown paper.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “paper”?

Stress the first syllable: PAP-er. “pap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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