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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “proposal”

“proposal” is pronounced /pɹəˈpoʊzəl/ (pruh-POH-zuhl) in American English and /pɹəpəʊzəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “os”.
The sound

Say “proposal” in 3 beats

Say it like this

proposal

/pɹəˈpoʊzəl/

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

3 beats
  1. proppɹə
  2. ospoʊstress
  3. alzəl
IPA (American)
/pɹəˈpoʊzəl/
IPA (British)
/pɹəpəʊzəl/
Respelling
pruh-POH-zuhl
Syllables
3 — prop-OS-al
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prop-OS-al. “os” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall 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

/pɹəˈpoʊzəl/

British

/pɹəpəʊzəl/

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

Meaning

What “proposal” means

  1. noun

    something proposed (such as a plan or assumption)

  2. noun

    an offer of marriage

  3. noun

    the act of making a proposal

    “they listened to her proposal”

Say it in a sentence

“The proposal was sixty pages long and nobody read it all.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
pp×2ɹrəschwa×2oʊlong ozzll

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

Questions

“proposal”, answered

How do you pronounce “proposal”?

“proposal” is pronounced /pɹəˈpoʊzəl/ (pruh-POH-zuhl) in American English and /pɹəpəʊzəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “os”. Build it as prop-OS-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “proposal” have?

3: prop · os · al. The beat lands on the second, “os”.

Is “proposal” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹəˈpoʊzəl/ (pruh-POH-zuhl); British English says /pɹəpəʊzəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “proposal” mean?

As a noun: something proposed (such as a plan or assumption) For example: “The proposal was sixty pages long and nobody read it all.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “proposal”?

Stress the second syllable: prop-OS-al. “os” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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