How to pronounce briefly
Say it like BREE-flee. Briefly has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (BREE).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce briefly. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- BREE
- flee
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Briefly pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- BREESay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
- fleeKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
American vs British pronunciation of briefly
American and British speakers say briefly in essentially the same way: /ˈbrifli/ in the US and /ˈbriːfli/ in the UK.
British respelling: BREE-flee.
What does briefly mean?
- for a short time“she visited him briefly”“was briefly associated with IBM”
- in a concise manner; in a few words“the history is summed up concisely in this book”“she replied briefly”
Where does briefly come from?
From Middle English breefly, breffly, brevely, brevelike, breveliche, equivalent to brief + -ly.
Words that rhyme with briefly
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of briefly.
Questions about saying briefly
How do you pronounce briefly?
Say BREE-flee. The American pronunciation is /ˈbrifli/. In British English it is /ˈbriːfli/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in briefly?
Briefly has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (BREE). Broken into parts: BREE · flee.
Do Americans and Brits say briefly the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ˈbrifli/ and the British form is /ˈbriːfli/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.