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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “require”

“require” is pronounced /ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/ (ree-KWY-uh) in American English and /ɹɪkwaɪə/ in British English, and /ɹiˈkwaɪɹ/ and /ɹɪˈkwaɪɚ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “uir”.
The sound

Say “require” in 3 beats

Say it like this

require

/ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/

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

3 beats
  1. reqɹi
  2. uirkwaɪstress
  3. eɚ
IPA (American)
/ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪkwaɪə/
Also accepted
/ɹiˈkwaɪɹ/
Also accepted
/ɹɪˈkwaɪɚ/
Respelling
ree-KWY-uh
Syllables
3 — req-UIR-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: req-UIR-e. “uir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/

British

/ɹɪkwaɪə/

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

Meaning

What “require” means

  1. verb

    require as useful, just, or proper

    “It takes nerve to do what she did”

  2. verb

    consider obligatory; request and expect

    “We require our secretary to be on time”

  3. verb

    make someone do something

Say it in a sentence

“The recipe does require butter rather than oil.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrilong ekkwwaɪlong iɚschwa

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

Questions

“require”, answered

How do you pronounce “require”?

“require” is pronounced /ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/ (ree-KWY-uh) in American English and /ɹɪkwaɪə/ in British English, and /ɹiˈkwaɪɹ/ and /ɹɪˈkwaɪɚ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “uir”. Build it as req-UIR-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “require” have?

3: req · uir · e. The beat lands on the second, “uir”.

Is “require” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɹiˈkwaɪɚ/ (ree-KWY-uh); British English says /ɹɪkwaɪə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “require” mean?

As a verb: require as useful, just, or proper For example: “It takes nerve to do what she did” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “require”?

Stress the second syllable: req-UIR-e. “uir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “require” and see every sound

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