Pronunciation

How to pronounce “perspective

“perspective” is pronounced /pɚˈspɛktɪv/ (puh-SPEK-tiv) in American English and /pəspɛktɪv/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “spɛk”.
The sound

Say “perspective” in 3 beats

Say it like this

perspective

/pɚˈspɛktɪv/

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

3 beats
  1. spɛkspɛkstress
  2. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/pɚˈspɛktɪv/
IPA (British)
/pəspɛktɪv/
Respelling
puh-SPEK-tiv
Syllables
3 — pɚ-SPƐK-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pɚ-SPƐK-tɪv. “spɛk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɚˈspɛktɪv/

British

/pəspɛktɪv/

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

Meaning

What “perspective” means

  1. noun

    a way of regarding situations or topics etc.

    consider what follows from the positivist view

  2. noun

    the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer

Say it in a sentence

Living abroad gave him a different perspective on his own country.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

perspective”, answered

How do you pronounce “perspective”?

“perspective” is pronounced /pɚˈspɛktɪv/ (puh-SPEK-tiv) in American English and /pəspɛktɪv/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “spɛk”. Build it as pɚ-SPƐK-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “perspective” have?

3: pɚ · spɛk · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “spɛk”.

Is “perspective” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɚˈspɛktɪv/ (puh-SPEK-tiv); British English says /pəspɛktɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “perspective” mean?

As a noun: a way of regarding situations or topics etc. For example: “consider what follows from the positivist view” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “perspective”?

Stress the second syllable: pɚ-SPƐK-tɪv. “spɛk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “perspective” and see every sound

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