How to pronounce “pique”
Say “pique” in one beat
pique
/pik/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /piːk/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- piquepik
- IPA (American)
- /pik/
- IPA (British)
- /piːk/
- Respelling
- PEEK
- Syllables
- 1 — pique
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /pik/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/pik/
/piːk/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “pique” goes wrong
- Often heard
“pih-KAY”
the que is a plain k: it sounds like peak
What “pique” means
- noun
tightly woven fabric with raised cords
- noun
a sudden outburst of anger
“his temper sparked like damp firewood”
- verb
cause to feel resentment or indignation
“Her tactless remark offended me”
Say it in a sentence
“A moment of pique made him leave the meeting early.”“pique”, answered
How do you pronounce “pique”?
“pique” is pronounced /pik/ (PEEK) in American English and /piːk/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /pik/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “pique” have?
One, despite the 3 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /pik/ — a single beat.
Is “pique” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /pik/ (PEEK); British English says /piːk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “pique” mean?
As a noun: tightly woven fabric with raised cords For example: “A moment of pique made him leave the meeting early.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “pique”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /pik/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “pique” 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.