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How to pronounce bouquet

Bouquet is pronounced boh-KAY in American English and boo-KAY in British English. It has two syllables with the stress on the second, KAY. The qu sounds like k and the t at the end is silent. Boo-KAY is also correct in American English.

Say it yourself
  • 2 syllables
  • Stress on KAY
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

bouquet

Two syllables, stress on the second

noun · a bunch of flowers arranged as a gift; also the smell of a wine

  1. bohboʊ
  2. KAYkeɪ (stressed)
  • US /boʊˈkeɪ/boh-KAY Recorded voice
  • UK /buˈkeɪ/boo-KAY Your device’s voice

Also said: US /buˈkeɪ/.

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Oxford gives boo-KAY for American English too; Cambridge lists both. The recording is American English.

Bouquet, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

US American English/boʊˈkeɪ/

  1. boh

    • /b/as in bad
    • /oʊ/as in go (US)

  2. KAYstressed

    • /k/as in cat
    • /eɪ/as in day

UK British English/buˈkeɪ/

  1. boo

    • /b/as in bad
    • /u/as in situation

  2. KAYstressed

    • /k/as in cat
    • /eɪ/as in day

Say bouquet yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes bouquet, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. The qu is a K sound and the T is silent.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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bouquet

    Common bouquet pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say boh-KAY.

    • NotBOW-kwet

      Reading it as an English word, with qu as kw and a spoken t. Qu is just k, and the t is silent.

    • Notboo-KET

      Saying the t. The ending is KAY, like the name of the letter K.

    • NotBOO-kay

      Stressing the first syllable. Put the weight on KAY.

    Bouquet in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • He gave her a bouquet of red roses.

    • The bride threw her bouquet over her shoulder.

    • This wine has a rich, fruity bouquet.

    Is bouquet boo-KAY or boh-KAY?

    Both are correct. English borrowed bouquet from French, where ou is an oo sound, and British English kept it: boo-KAY. For American English, Cambridge lists boh-KAY first, and both Cambridge and Oxford also give boo-KAY.

    The rest of the word follows French rules. Qu is a plain k, with no w after it. The ending -et sounds like ay and the t is silent, as in ballet and buffet.

    Put the stress on the end, KAY, in both accents. The same word, with the same sound, describes the smell of a wine.

    Words that sound like bouquet

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

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