clique
noun · a small group of friends who do not let other people join
- KLEEKkliːk (stressed)
- KLEEKkliːk (stressed)
- US /kliːk/KLEEK Recorded voice
- UK /kliːk/KLEEK Your device’s voice
Also said: US /klɪk/.
How to pronounce clique
Clique is pronounced KLEEK, with one syllable and a long ee. The que at the end is just k. In American English KLIK, like click, is also heard.
- 1 syllable
- Stress on KLEEK
- US and UK IPA
- Checked in Cambridge and Oxford
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge lists /klɪk/ and /kliːk/ for American English. Oxford lists /kliːk/. The recording is American English.
Clique, sound by sound
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
USUK American and British English/kliːk/
KLEEKstressed
- /k/as in cat
- /l/as in leg
- /iː/as in see
- /k/as in cat
Say clique yourself
Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes clique, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.
Tip. Say KLEEK, with a long ee. The que is silent. In the US KLIK is also used.
Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.
Say it
Say this word
clique
Compare
Ours
Yours
Your recording stays in this tab. It is gone when you leave the page.
Common clique pronunciation mistakes
What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say KLEEK.
Not
KLEE-kwuhSaying the ue as an extra sound. The word ends on k.
Not
KLIKEReading i as in like. The vowel is ee (or short i in the US).
Not
KLEESHEnding in sh. The last sound is k.
Clique 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.
She does not belong to any clique at school.
The clique sat together at lunch every day.
He left the clique and made new friends.
Is clique KLEEK or KLIK?
KLEEK is the form in British and American dictionaries. In the US, Cambridge also lists KLIK, which sounds like click. Both are used, and KLEEK is the safer choice.
The word is French. It comes from the verb cliquer, to clap or click, a word made from the sound itself. In English a clique first meant a noisy group, and then a small group that keeps others out.
The que spelling is the same one you see in unique and antique. It stands for the k sound only, so there is no w sound or extra syllable at the end.
Words that sound like clique
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
Say words like clique out loud with Slova
In Slova you say new words out loud in every lesson, at your level, in lessons built around what you love.