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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “portrait”

“portrait” is pronounced /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ (PAWR-truht) in American English and /pɔːtɹeɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “port”.
The sound

Say “portrait” in 2 beats

Say it like this

portrait

/ˈpɔɹtɹət/

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

2 beats
  1. portpɔɹstress
  2. raittɹət
IPA (American)
/ˈpɔɹtɹət/
IPA (British)
/pɔːtɹeɪt/
Respelling
PAWR-truht
Syllables
2 — PORT-rait
Stress
Stress the first syllable: PORT-rait. “port” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈpɔɹtɹət/

British

/pɔːtɹeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “portrait” means

  1. noun

    a word picture of a person's appearance and character

  2. noun

    any likeness of a person, in any medium

    “the photographer made excellent portraits”

Say it in a sentence

“A portrait of the founder hangs above the staircase.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɔawɹr×2tt×2əschwa

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

Questions

“portrait”, answered

How do you pronounce “portrait”?

“portrait” is pronounced /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ (PAWR-truht) in American English and /pɔːtɹeɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “port”. Build it as PORT-rait, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “portrait” have?

2: port · rait. The beat lands on the first, “port”.

Is “portrait” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈpɔɹtɹət/ (PAWR-truht); British English says /pɔːtɹeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “portrait” mean?

As a noun: a word picture of a person's appearance and character For example: “A portrait of the founder hangs above the staircase.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “portrait”?

Stress the first syllable: PORT-rait. “port” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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