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How to pronounce "père" in English

père is pronounced priː. Hear authentic native speakers pronounce it in 52 clips with synchronized subtitles and timestamps below.

priː

PREE

Primary stress: PREE

Accent:
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Hear native speakers say père in context across real video clips

1/52
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IPApriː
SayPREE
SyllablesPREE
Hear it in contextUS
27:09

forbid me to take my son and bring him to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery," which is, as you may know one of the largest cemeteries in Paris. of the largest cemeteries in Paris.

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Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “père”

Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence

priː

Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution

Syllable 1Primary Stress

PREE

Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.

As a single-syllable word, "père" receives full primary stress when spoken in isolation, though it may take a reduced weak form in connected speech when acting as a function word.

Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes

⚠️ Single-Syllable Vocal Energy & Vowel Articulation

The Trap: Single-syllable words like "père" carry primary acoustic prominence in isolation, but can be swallowed in rapid connected speech.

How Native Speakers Say It: Sustain vowel clarity without rushing into the trailing consonant. Elevate pitch slightly when "père" carries the primary contrast or new information in a sentence.

Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow

🔗 Consonant-Vowel Linking (Liaison)

When followed by a vowel, insert a subtle glide (/w/ or /j/) to connect into the subsequent word without an abrupt glottal stop.

⏱️ Stress-Timed Rhythm

In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "père" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.

Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context

Verified Transcripts
“Père-Lachaise Cemetery," which is, as you may know one of the largest cemeteries in Paris.”
— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Cemeteries like the 110-acre Père-Lachaise in Paris or the 72-acre Mt.”
— TED-EdWatch clip
“- Père Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world.”
— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“Père happens to be on the cover of our textbook.”
— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Père Goriot, in which Rastignac, who was sort of this down-and-out noble who wants to make the big time in Paris by sleeping with all the right”
— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Père Lachaise Cemetery, and there's the Wall of the Féd&ea cute; rés, it's called the Wall of the Fédérés, and that's where they massacred lots of people.”
— YaleCoursesWatch clip
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Practice Speaking “père”

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IPA:priː
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Target Phrase:

Père-Lachaise Cemetery," which is, as you may know one of the largest cemeteries in Paris.

Hear it in context: “père”

52 clips

The English word “père” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as priː (phonetic respelling: PREE). Phonologically, it consists of 1 syllable (PREE), pronounced as a single stressed monosyllable. Grammatically, “père” functions as a preposition, noun, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 52 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “père” in natural connected speech across American (US: 7 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, TED-Ed.

Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)

  • 🇺🇸 USYaleCourses
    Clip #1 · @27:09
    “forbid me to take my son and bring him to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery," which is, as you may know one of the largest cemeteries in Paris. of the largest cemeteries in Paris.”
  • 🇺🇸 USTED-Ed
    Clip #2 · @3:03
    “large suburban cemeteries replaced smaller urban churchyards. Cemeteries like the 110-acre Père-Lachaise in Paris or the 72-acre Mt. Auburn in Cambridge, Massachusetts or the 72-acre Mt. Auburn in Cambridge, Massachusetts”
  • 🇺🇸 US
    Clip #3 · @1:41
    “- Energy built all the things we love about the modern world including AI. - Père Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. - Père Lachaise Cemetery is one”
  • 🇺🇸 USYaleCourses
    Clip #4 · @5:18
    “Alexandre Dumas--fils actually. Père happens to be on the cover of our textbook. The son wrote a play called "The Lady of the”
  • 🇺🇸 USYaleCourses
    Clip #5 · @39:09
    “novels by definition are old, obviously--Old Goriot, Père Goriot, in which Rastignac, who was sort of this down-and-out noble who wants to make the big time in Paris by sleeping with all the right who was sort of this down-and-out noble who wants to”

Definition & Meaning: “père”

Audio
PREPOSITION
  • Before (something significant).
NOUN
  • Clipping of predrinks.
  • Clipping of precum.
VERB
  • Clipping of pre-drink.
  • Clipping of precum.

Example Sentences (3)

  • “In the posting, Matthews said he wished that, “more blacks [sic] people would look into ancient beliefs of pre Christian Africa.””
  • “This one's for a short and sweet pres before heading to the club. If you're aiming to get absolutely SMASHED in a short amount of time, this is the game for you!”
  • “Père-Lachaise Cemetery," which is, as you may know one of the largest cemeteries in Paris.”

Pronounce: “père”

Pronunciation:
PREE
Syllables:
PREE
Written Hyphenation:
pre
Primary stress:
PREE
IPA:
priː
Hear it in context
père

Words that Rhyme with “père”

-i
View all 75 rhymes for “père”

Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)

Unique Sound
Explore 800+ homophone pairs

"père" (⁄priː⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "père" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.

Frequently asked questions about père

How do you pronounce “père”?

“père” is pronounced ⁄priː⁄ (PREE). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.

Where is the stress in “père”?

The primary stress in “père” is on “PREE”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.

What does “père” mean?

Before (something significant).

How can I hear “père” used in real sentences?

This page has 52 real-world video examples of “père” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.

What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “père”?

Single-syllable words like "père" carry primary acoustic prominence in isolation, but can be swallowed in rapid connected speech. Sustain vowel clarity without rushing into the trailing consonant. Elevate pitch slightly when "père" carries the primary contrast or new information in a sentence.