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How to pronounce espresso

Espresso is pronounced es-PRES-oh, with three syllables and the stress on the second. There is no x or k sound at the start, so it is not expresso. American and British English agree.

Say it yourself
  • 3 syllables
  • Stress on PRES
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

espresso

Three syllables, stress on the second

noun · strong black coffee made by pushing hot water through ground coffee

  1. eses
  2. PRESpres (stressed)
  3. ohoʊ
  • US /esˈpres.oʊ/es-PRES-oh Recorded voice
  • UK /esˈpres.əʊ/es-PRES-oh Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.

Espresso, sound by sound

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

US American English/esˈpres.oʊ/

  1. es

    • /e/as in bed
    • /s/as in see

  2. PRESstressed

    • /p/as in pen
    • /r/as in red
    • /e/as in bed
    • /s/as in see

  3. oh

    • /oʊ/as in go (US)

UK British English/esˈpres.əʊ/

  1. es

    • /e/as in bed
    • /s/as in see

  2. PRESstressed

    • /p/as in pen
    • /r/as in red
    • /e/as in bed
    • /s/as in see

  3. oh

    • /əʊ/as in go (UK)

Say espresso yourself

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

Tip. There is no X: say es-PRES-oh, not ex-PRES-oh. The stress is on PRES.

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

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espresso

    Common espresso pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say es-PRES-oh.

    • Notex-PRES-oh

      Adding a k sound (ex-). The word starts with es.

    • NotES-pres-oh

      Stressing the first syllable. The stress is on PRES.

    • Notes-PRAY-soh

      Reading e as ay in the stressed syllable. It is the short e of bed.

    Espresso 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.

    • I drink an espresso after lunch.

    • She ordered a double espresso at the bar.

    • The espresso machine is on the counter.

    Is it espresso or expresso?

    It is espresso. The word begins with es, not ex, and there is no k sound at the start. Cambridge and Oxford list only es-PRES-oh.

    Many people say ex-PRES-oh because of the English word express. The two are linked in a way, but the Italian word espresso comes from caffè espresso, coffee pressed out. The verb is esprimere, to press out, from Latin. Some sources also link it to fast, because the coffee is made quickly.

    The stress is in the middle: es-PRES-oh. The last syllable is oh, as in go, and the first is a weak es. A short e, a clear p-r cluster, and no x are what make it sound right.

    Words that sound like espresso

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

    More words from other languages

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