How to pronounce life
Say it like LYFE. Life is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce life. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- LYFE
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Life pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- LYFESay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in time.
American vs British pronunciation of life
American and British speakers say life in essentially the same way: /laɪf/ in the US and /laɪf/ in the UK.
British respelling: LYFE.
What does life mean?
- a characteristic state or mode of living“social life”“city life”
- the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities“he could no longer cope with the complexities of life”
- the course of existence of an individual; the actions and events that occur in living“he hoped for a new life in Australia”“he wanted to live his own life without interference from others”
Where does life come from?
The sense "biography" is likely a semantic loan from Medieval Latin vīta (“biography; hagiography”).
Words that rhyme with life
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of life.
Questions about saying life
How do you pronounce life?
Say LYFE. The American pronunciation is /laɪf/. In British English it is /laɪf/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in life?
Life is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: LYFE.
Do Americans and Brits say life the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /laɪf/ and the British form is /laɪf/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.