Pronunciation

How to pronounce “paragraph

“paragraph” is pronounced /ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/ (PA-ruh-graf) in American English and /paɹəɡɹaf/ in British English, and /ˈpɛɹəˌɡɹæf/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “par”.
The sound

Say “paragraph” in 3 beats

Say it like this

paragraph

/ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/

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

3 beats
  1. parstress
  2. agɹə
  3. raphɡɹæf
IPA (American)
/ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/
IPA (British)
/paɹəɡɹaf/
Also accepted
/ˈpɛɹəˌɡɹæf/
Respelling
PA-ruh-graf
Syllables
3 — PAR-ag-raph
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PAR-ag-raph. “par” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/

British

/paɹəɡɹaf/

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

Meaning

What “paragraph” means

  1. noun

    one of several distinct subdivisions of a text intended to separate ideas; the beginning is usually marked by a new indented line

  2. verb

    divide into paragraphs, as of text

    This story is well paragraphed

  3. verb

    write about in a paragraph

    All her friends were paragraphed in last Monday's paper

Say it in a sentence

Cut the third paragraph and the argument gets stronger.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

paragraph”, answered

How do you pronounce “paragraph”?

“paragraph” is pronounced /ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/ (PA-ruh-graf) in American English and /paɹəɡɹaf/ in British English, and /ˈpɛɹəˌɡɹæf/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “par”. Build it as PAR-ag-raph, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “paragraph” have?

3: par · ag · raph. The beat lands on the first, “par”.

Is “paragraph” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpæɹəˌɡɹæf/ (PA-ruh-graf); British English says /paɹəɡɹaf/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “paragraph” mean?

As a noun: one of several distinct subdivisions of a text intended to separate ideas; the beginning is usually marked by a new indented line For example: “Cut the third paragraph and the argument gets stronger.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “paragraph”?

Stress the first syllable: PAR-ag-raph. “par” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “paragraph” 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.