2 syllables: Be, lieve. Stress on lieve.
bil-EEV
/bɪˈliv/
Believe is pronounced bil-EEV (/bɪˈliv/). It has two syllables (Be-lieve), with the stress on "lieve". Believe is a verb meaning to accept something as true, genuine, or real, often despite doubt. It also conveys confidence in the truth or existence of something, or to have faith in a person or idea. The word carries a sense of conviction and trust, frequently used in everyday judgment, advocacy, and persuasion contexts.
verbBelieve is a verb meaning to accept something as true, genuine, or real, often despite doubt. It also conveys confidence in the truth or existence of something, or to have faith in a person or idea. The word carries a sense of conviction and trust, frequently used in everyday judgment, advocacy, and persuasion contexts.
How to Pronounce Believe
"I believe you can finish the project on time with careful planning."
"She believes in fair treatment for all workers."
"Many people believe that education opens doors to opportunity."
Pronounce as /bɪˈliːv/ (US) or /bɪˈliːv/ (UK/AU) with secondary stress on the second syllable. Start with an initial short /b/ burst, then a lax /ɪ/ in the first syllable, and a longer, tense /iː/ on the second syllable, ending with /v/. Tip: keep the mouth relaxed for /ɪ/ and finish with clear lip-raising for /v/. Audio resources: Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries give audio examples; try a quick mouth position your tongue toward the alveolar ridge for the /l/ and keep the /v/ labiodental.
Two common errors are: 1) pronouncing it as /bɛˈlɪv/ with a short /ɛ/ vowel in the first syllable and a reduced second syllable, which weakens the word’s emphasis; 2) turning the second syllable into /ˈliv/ with a lax vowel or dropping the long /iː/ quality, making it sound like 'beliv'. Correction: keep the first syllable with a short /ɪ/ and lengthen the second syllable to /liː/ before the /v/, ensuring the primary stress on the second syllable.
In US and UK, the primary stress is on the second syllable: be-LIEVE. US often has a slightly shorter first vowel /ɪ/ and a more pronounced /iː/ in the second syllable; the /v/ is clear. UK tends to a more open, slightly longer /iː/ and crisper /v/ with less vowel reduction in fast speech. Australian English aligns with UK patterns but may show a more centralized vowel in fast speech. All share /bɪˈliːv/ but rhythm and vowel length vary with accent and pace.
The difficulty lies in the two-syllable structure with a stressed second syllable and a long, tense /iː/ vowel, which contrasts with the short /ɪ/ in the first syllable. The final /v/ is a voiced labiodental fricative that often blends with preceding vowels in connected speech, potentially causing vowel shortening. Learners also grapple with timing: the leap from /ɪ/ to /iː/ requires precise tongue height control and lip involvement to avoid a flatter, quicker sound.
Does 'Believe' ever have a schwa in natural speech? Usually not; the first syllable uses /ɪ/ rather than a schwa, and the second syllable uses /iː/. In rapid connected speech, some speakers may reduce the /ə/ sound in the unstressed positions around it, but the core syllables remain /bɪ/ and /liːv/ for most speakers, preserving the /iː/ vowel quality.
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Believe comes from Old English gelyfian, meaning to hold as true or to trust, related to the German glauben and Dutch geloven. The root gelyf- is tied to the Proto-Germanic *galaiþijaną, with the notion of fidelity or confirmation. Over time, Old English evolved through Middle English forms like gelyven and believen, narrowing to believe in the sense of holding to a proposition as true. The spelling shift to -ieve followed phonological changes in English vowel pronunciation. The first attested uses in English dates back to early medieval texts, where believe appeared in religious and legal contexts to indicate trust or affirmation. By the 16th–17th centuries, the sense broadened to everyday conviction and personal assurance, as in belief or believer, reflecting its role in discourse about truth, faith, and opinion. The modern sense of trusting or accepting as true, even without complete proof, solidified in secular usage, while retaining its roots in faith, fidelity, and confidence.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Believe" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Believe"
-eve sounds
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