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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “picturesque”

“picturesque” is pronounced /ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/ (PIK-chuh-uhsk) in American English and /pɪktʃəɹɛsk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pɪk”.
The sound

Say “picturesque” in 3 beats

Say it like this

picturesque

/ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/

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

3 beats
  1. pɪkpɪkstress
  2. tʃɚtʃɚ
  3. əskəsk
IPA (American)
/ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/
IPA (British)
/pɪktʃəɹɛsk/
Respelling
PIK-chuh-uhsk
Syllables
3 — PꞮK-tʃɚ-əsk
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PꞮK-tʃɚ-əsk. “pɪk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/

British

/pɪktʃəɹɛsk/

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

Meaning

What “picturesque” means

  1. adjective

    suggesting or suitable for a picture; pretty as a picture

    “a picturesque village”

  2. adjective

    strikingly expressive

    “a picturesque description of the rainforest”

Say it in a sentence

“The village is picturesque but almost impossible to park in.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɪshort ikk×2tʃchɚschwa×2ss

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

Questions

“picturesque”, answered

How do you pronounce “picturesque”?

“picturesque” is pronounced /ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/ (PIK-chuh-uhsk) in American English and /pɪktʃəɹɛsk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “pɪk”. Build it as PꞮK-tʃɚ-əsk, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “picturesque” have?

3: pɪk · tʃɚ · əsk. The beat lands on the first, “pɪk”.

Is “picturesque” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɪktʃɚəsk/ (PIK-chuh-uhsk); British English says /pɪktʃəɹɛsk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “picturesque” mean?

As an adjective: suggesting or suitable for a picture; pretty as a picture For example: “a picturesque village” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “picturesque”?

Stress the first syllable: PꞮK-tʃɚ-əsk. “pɪk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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