How to pronounce "wrasses" in English
WRAS·ses
Primary stress: wras
Hear native speakers say wrasses in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “wrasses”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
WRAS
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
ses
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("WRAS"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: The letter "w" before "r" in "wrasses" is completely silent.
How Native Speakers Say It: Start directly with the postalveolar approximant /r/ sound. Do not round your lips for a "w" glide.
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "wrasses" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "wrasses is" sounds like "wrasses-iz").
In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "wrasses" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“And we saw it with fireflies, and then I told you about cleaning wrasses in saber-tooth blennies.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Like mammals or birds, they can do some pretty smart stuff—especially species with really complex social lifestyles, like cleaner wrasses.”— SciShowWatch clip
“Wrasses are also protogynous hermaphrodites, except what’s different about wrasses is that the females, some of them become male, and some of the males are born male.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“So things like wrasses and triggerfishes will oftentimes flap their pectoral fins to hover over a structure to further investigate whatever is living in it.”— WIREDWatch clip
“You know about cleaning wrasses that come into the mouths of big fish and clean the parasites off of them and so forth,”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Groupers will sometimes invite wrasses or octopuses to hunt with them, too.”— SciShowWatch clip
Practice Speaking “wrasses”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
And we saw it with fireflies, and then I told you about cleaning wrasses in saber-tooth blennies.
Hear it in context: “wrasses”
12 clipsThe English word “wrasses”. Phonologically, it consists of 2 syllables (wras · ses), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (wras). Grammatically, “wrasses” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 12 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “wrasses” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, SciShow, TEDx Talks.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @47:29
“opportunity will eventually be seized by some species evolving into that niche. And we saw it with fireflies, and then I told you about cleaning wrasses in saber-tooth blennies. And we saw it with fireflies, and then I told you about”
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #2 · @6:21
“Overall, it seems like fish are probably about as intelligent as other non-human vertebrates. Like mammals or birds, they can do some pretty smart stuff—especially species with really complex social lifestyles, like cleaner wrasses. complex social lifestyles, like cleaner wrasses.”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #3 · @6:39
“This is a male Napoleon wrasse in Palau with a lot of personality. Wrasses are also protogynous hermaphrodites, except what’s different about wrasses is that the females, some of them become male, and some of the males are born male. except what’s different about wrasses is that the females,”
- 🇺🇸 USWIREDClip #4 · @8:34
“So you see these in fishes that live in coral reefs. So things like wrasses and triggerfishes will oftentimes flap their pectoral fins to hover over a structure to further investigate whatever is living in it. will oftentimes flap their pectoral fins”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #5 · @22:52
“The one that always got me as a kid is the saber-tooth blenny. You know about cleaning wrasses that come into the mouths of big fish and clean the parasites off of them and so forth, fish and clean the parasites off of them and so forth,”
Definition & Meaning: “wrasses”
- A wrestling match or a bout of wrestling, often used in regional or dialectal speech.
Example Sentences (3)
- “He challenged his brother to a friendly wrass in the backyard.”
- “into that niche. And we saw it with fireflies, and then I told you about cleaning wrasses in saber-tooth blennies.”
- “Like mammals or birds, they can do some pretty smart stuff—especially species with really complex social lifestyles, like cleaner wrasses.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “wrasses”
- Syllables:
- wras · ses
- Primary stress:
- wras
- Hear it in context
- wrasses
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"wrasses" 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, "wrasses" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about wrasses
How many syllables are in “wrasses”?
“wrasses” has 2 syllables: wras · ses.
Where is the stress in “wrasses”?
The primary stress in “wrasses” is on “WRAS”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “wrasses” mean?
A wrestling match or a bout of wrestling, often used in regional or dialectal speech.
How can I hear “wrasses” used in real sentences?
This page has 12 real-world video examples of “wrasses” 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 “wrasses”?
The letter "w" before "r" in "wrasses" is completely silent. Start directly with the postalveolar approximant /r/ sound. Do not round your lips for a "w" glide.