PRONUNCIATION / Everyday language

How to pronounce respite

Check respite pronunciation with CMUdict sound tokens and stress, then practise two original sentences and download a voiceover audition worksheet.

The dictionary sound sequence

CMUdict lists this North American English pronunciation for respite. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

Dictionary variant 1

R EH1 S P IH0 T

Syllable estimate: 2 vowel nuclei
Primary stress: 1st vowel position

Check respite in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio.

Syllable counts come from vowel tokens; CMUdict does not supply syllable boundaries here. Variant order follows the dictionary and does not rank correctness. This lexicon does not represent every accent or context.

Use respite in context

Respite means a temporary period of relief from something difficult or tiring. Travel writing, personal stories, and descriptions of caregiving may use it in different circumstances. Narration should identify what the person is relieved from and keep the temporary nature of the break clear without making the word sound like a permanent solution.

The shaded courtyard offered a welcome respite from the afternoon heat.
The volunteers arranged a brief respite for the family caring for him.

Read the sound tokens

Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of respite. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A).

Rsound in readconsonant

EHsound in Edvowel

Ssound in seaconsonant

Psound in peeconsonant

IHsound in itvowel

Tsound in teaconsonant

TAKE IT TO YOUR NEXT RECORDING

Make an audition worksheet

Select a dictionary variant for your checklist. The two original sentences retain their normal spelling; this worksheet helps you review a recording rather than forcing a speech engine to use phonemes.

Worksheet pronunciation variant

Your plain-text audition worksheet

How to pronounce respite

Word: respite
Dictionary variant: 1 of 1
CMUdict ARPABET: R EH1 S P IH0 T
Vowel nuclei / estimated syllables: 2
Primary stress: 1st vowel position

ORIGINAL AUDITION SCRIPT
The shaded courtyard offered a welcome respite from the afternoon heat.
The volunteers arranged a brief respite for the family caring for him.

REVIEW CHECKLIST
[ ] Read both sentences naturally; keep the source wording.
[ ] Compare the intended pronunciation with the selected dictionary variant.
[ ] Listen for vowel sounds, consonants, and word stress in context.
[ ] Check with a speaker or another dictionary when accent or meaning matters.
[ ] Generate and listen to a short Murmur sample before exporting the full script.

Practice note: Audition respite with the source of relief named in the sentence. Compare the dictionary transcription against a second reference if your audience expects a particular accent, and keep the surrounding passage natural rather than slowing only this word.

CMUdict is a North American English lexicon, not a recording or a complete accent guide.
Variant order is dictionary order; it is not a ranking of correctness.
Source: https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict
Source commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690
License: https://www.murmurtts.com/downloads/cmudict-license.txt
Reference: https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/respite

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Dictionary source

The phonemes on this page come from CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters.

CMUdict README · Included dictionary license

Source version and checksum

Commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690

Dictionary SHA-256: 81917843c7f44ce2b094ac63873c2c7a4cf802040792c455ba3ca406891c3d22

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