How to pronounce sweet
Say it like SWEET. Sweet 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 sweet. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SWEET
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Sweet pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SWEETSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
American vs British pronunciation of sweet
American and British speakers say sweet in essentially the same way: /swit/ in the US and /swiːt/ in the UK.
British respelling: SWEET.
What does sweet mean?
- having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
- having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub“an angelic smile”“a cherubic face”
- pleasing to the ear“the dulcet tones of the cello”
- in an affectionate or loving manner (sweet is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of sweetly)“Susan Hayward plays the wife sharply and sweetly”“how sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank”
- English phonetician; one of the founders of modern phonetics (1845-1912)
- a dish served as the last course of a meal
- a food rich in sugar
Where does sweet come from?
Cognate with Yola sweet (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Alemannic German süeß (“sweet”), Bavarian siaß (“sweet; cute”), Central Franconian söß (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), German süss, süß (“s
Similar and opposite words
Opposite meaning
Words that rhyme with sweet
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of sweet.
Words that sound like sweet
Questions about saying sweet
How do you pronounce sweet?
Say SWEET. The American pronunciation is /swit/. In British English it is /swiːt/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in sweet?
Sweet is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: SWEET.
Do Americans and Brits say sweet the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /swit/ and the British form is /swiːt/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.
What words sound the same as sweet?
Sweet sounds the same as suite in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.