2 syllables: Bou, quet. Stress on quet.
boo-KAY
/buˈkeɪ/
Bouquet is pronounced boo-KAY (/buˈkeɪ/). It has two syllables (Bou-quet), with the stress on "quet". Bouquet is a noun meaning a small, carefully arranged bunch of flowers. It can also refer to a wine’s aroma or overall fragrance. The term emphasizes presentation and sensory impression, rather than quantity. It is pronounced with a silent final letter, and the stress falls on the first syllable, yielding a smooth, compact sound ideal for elegant contexts.
nounBouquet is a noun meaning a small, carefully arranged bunch of flowers. It can also refer to a wine’s aroma or overall fragrance. The term emphasizes presentation and sensory impression, rather than quantity. It is pronounced with a silent final letter, and the stress falls on the first syllable, yielding a smooth, compact sound ideal for elegant contexts.
How to Pronounce Bouquet
"She carried a bouquet of roses down the aisle."
"The wine’s bouquet hinted at notes of vanilla and cherry."
"They presented a floral bouquet to the host as a welcome gesture."
Bouquet is pronounced BOH-kay with the stress on the first syllable. In IPA: US /ˈboʊ.keɪ/, UK /ˈbəʊ.keɪ/, AU /ˈbəʊ.keɪ/. The final consonant is silent, and the second syllable is a long A sound (/eɪ/) as in 'cake'. Position your lips for a rounded /oʊ/ (or /əʊ/ in UK/AU) on the first syllable while keeping the second syllable open and tense with /eɪ/.
Two common errors are pronouncing the second syllable as a plain -et or collapsing the syllables into a flat 'boo-KEH' without the /eɪ/ glide. Correction: keep first syllable long and rounded (/ˈboʊ/ US or /ˈbəʊ/ UK/AU) and finish with the clear /keɪ/ glide. Don’t add a consonant sound at the end; end on /eɪ/. Practically: practice BOH-kay with a gentle, unvoiced final.
US tends toward /ˈboʊ.keɪ/ with a stronger diphthong in the first syllable and a crisp /keɪ/ ending. UK and AU often render it /ˈbəʊ.keɪ/, with less fluctuation in the rhythm and a slightly shorter first vowel in some dialects. The main distinction is rhoticity: in US you’ll hear a rhotic vowel sound in separate contexts, but 'Bouquet' itself is nonrhotic in many UK/AU varieties, making the second syllable equally prominent. IPA: US /ˈboʊ.keɪ/, UK/AU /ˈbəʊ.keɪ/.
The challenge lies in the silent final consonant and the diphthong sequence. Learners often mispronounce the second syllable with a short /e/ instead of /eɪ/, or insert an extra consonant. Focus on the final vowel glide /eɪ/ and keep the first syllable as a smooth diphthong (/oʊ/ or /əʊ/). Also manage the transition between the vowel qualities: rounded back vowel in the first syllable and the high front glide in the second.
A distinctive feature is the silent final consonant; in English, bouquet ultimately ends with an /eɪ/ glide rather than an audible 't' or 'et'. This makes the word deceptively long for a two-syllable word. The practical cue is to sustain the /eɪ/ sound at the end and avoid trailing consonants in casual speech. In careful enunciation, you’ll hear a crisp /eɪ/ that closes the word neatly.
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Bouquet derives from the French word bouquet, meaning a cluster of flowers or a bunch. The origin traces to Old French buquet or bouquet, from bouque meaning a bunch of flowers. The term entered English usage in the 17th century, originally describing a small cluster of flowers carried ceremonially. Over time, its semantic field broadened to include the aromatic impression of wine or perfume, maintaining the core sense of a curated, pleasing combination of scents or visual elements. The pronunciation in English preserves the French-influenced diphthong in the first syllable and a silent final consonant, reflecting its retronymic path from a loanword to a common noun in literary and social registers. First known use in print appears in 17th-century English floristry and etiquette literature, with later usage in oenology and fragrance industries as the word extended to describe an aroma profile as well as a bouquet of flowers.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Bouquet" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Bouquet" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Bouquet"
-uet sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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