How to pronounce “souvenir”
Say “souvenir” in 3 beats
souvenir
/ˌsuvəˈnɪɹ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /suːvəniə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- souvsu
- envə
- irnɪɹstress
- IPA (American)
- /ˌsuvəˈnɪɹ/
- IPA (British)
- /suːvəniə/
- Respelling
- soo-vuh-NIR
- Syllables
- 3 — souv-en-IR
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: souv-en-IR. “ir” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˌsuvəˈnɪɹ/
/suːvəniə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “souvenir” means
- noun
something of sentimental value
- noun
a reminder of past events
Say it in a sentence
“The only souvenir she kept was a small painted tile.”“souvenir”, answered
How do you pronounce “souvenir”?
“souvenir” is pronounced /ˌsuvəˈnɪɹ/ (soo-vuh-NIR) in American English and /suːvəniə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ir”. Build it as souv-en-IR, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “souvenir” have?
3: souv · en · ir. The beat lands on the third, “ir”.
Is “souvenir” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌsuvəˈnɪɹ/ (soo-vuh-NIR); British English says /suːvəniə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “souvenir” mean?
As a noun: something of sentimental value For example: “The only souvenir she kept was a small painted tile.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “souvenir”?
Stress the third syllable: souv-en-IR. “ir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “souvenir” 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.