How to pronounce Portraits
Portraits has 2 syllables. The stress is on the first syllable, "pawrt". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.
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Portraits syllables
Portraits has 2 syllables: PAWRT-ruhts.
- PAWRTpɔrt
- ruhtsrəts
POR-truts, two syllables, stress on the first. The ending is a weak "truts", not "trates" — the "ai" does not lengthen in the plural any more than in the singular.
The final -s is pronounced as an s because the sound before it is voiceless.
Sounds to watch
The r sound
Pull the tongue back and up without touching the roof of the mouth. American r is never rolled or tapped.
Weak syllables
The unstressed syllables use a short, relaxed uh (schwa). Rushing through them lightly is correct; giving them a full vowel sounds unnatural.
Consonant clusters
Three consonants run together with no vowel between them. Say them as one movement rather than inserting an "uh"; slowing down is fine, adding a vowel is not.
Portraits in a sentence
- The gallery hung the portraits in the order they were painted.
- She paints portraits of dogs for a living.
Read either sentence into the recorder above. The check judges only the target word, so the rest of the sentence can be rough.
What Speakeroo listens for
These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.
- Final -s ending unclearUse the correct /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/ ending and keep it audible.
- /r/ distorted or unclearUse the selected accent’s tongue shape without pressing the tongue against the palate.
- Final consonant omittedHold the final mouth position briefly without adding another vowel.
- Consonant cluster reducedBuild the cluster one sound at a time without deleting a member.
- Extra vowel after a consonantFinish directly on the consonant instead of adding a vowel.
Questions
How do you pronounce portraits?
Portraits is pronounced /ˈpɔrt.rəts/, or PAWRT-ruhts in plain letters. It has 2 syllables and the stress falls on the first syllable, "pawrt".
How many syllables are in portraits?
2: PAWRT-ruhts. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.
How do you use portraits in a sentence?
The gallery hung the portraits in the order they were painted. She paints portraits of dogs for a living.
How is the ending of portraits pronounced?
The final -s is pronounced as an s because the sound before it is voiceless.
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