grand
/ɡɹænd/
grande is pronounced grand (/ɡɹænd/). Grande can function as an adjective or noun in Romance languages and in borrowed usage in English. It generally conveys 'large' or 'great' in magnitude, scale, or importance, and can imply formality or grandeur in certain contexts. In many contexts it also appears as a proper noun or brand name. The term carries a confident, emphatic connotation rather than everyday diminutive sense.
Grande can function as an adjective or noun in Romance languages and in borrowed usage in English. It generally conveys 'large' or 'great' in magnitude, scale, or importance, and can imply formality or grandeur in certain contexts. In many contexts it also appears as a proper noun or brand name. The term carries a confident, emphatic connotation rather than everyday diminutive sense.
- You might default to /ɡrænd/ or drop the final vowel, making it sound like 'grand'—avoid truncating the second syllable. - Misplacing the stress to the second syllable or weakening it; keep primary stress on the first syllable /ˈɡræn/. - Vowel length: don’t overextend the /æ/ or turn it into /eɪ/; keep it short and crisp before the /n/.
"- The grande staircase welcomed guests into the opulent hall."
"- They celebrated with a grande bolero, a grand, ceremonial performance."
"- The grande finale left the audience in awe of its scale."
- Pronounce as /ˈɡræn di/ in US/UK/AU English. The first syllable has a stressed short 'a' as in 'cat', the second is a light 'dee' syllable; final 'e' is pronounced as a long 'ee' in many borrowed expressions, but in this word it tends to be a short, quick 'ee' sound. Mouth: start with a rounded but relaxed 'g' then open jaw for /æ/; the /n/ blends into /d/ with a light touch, ending with /i/. IPA guide: /ˈɡræn.di/. Audio reference: consult Cambridge/Oxford pronunciations or Forvo for native-recorded samples.
Common errors include turning the /æ/ into a more open /a/ or misplacing the stress as /ˈɡren.di/ or /ˈɡrændɪ/. Another frequent slip is pronouncing the second syllable as /də/ instead of /di/. Correction tips: keep the first syllable with the high-front half-open vowel /æ/ and place primary stress on the first syllable; make the second syllable a crisp /di/ with a short, clean 'd' and 'ee'-like ending, not a full 'ee' length.
In all three accents, the initial /ɡ/ and /r/ are present; the primary clue is the vowel. US/UK/AU typically use /æ/ in the first syllable with /di/ following, yielding /ˈɡræn.di/. Americans may flatter a slightly flatter /æ/ and crisper /d/; UK and AU may exhibit a marginally tenser /æ/ and more clipped /di/. Rhoticity isn’t a major factor here since the word ends in a non-rhotic shape in casual speech, but you’ll still hear a very quick /i/ at the end in clipped speech.
The challenge lies in the short, tense /æ/ vowel in the first syllable and the rapid shift to /di/ in the second. Learners may produce a longer /eɪ/ or /e/ in the second syllable or insert an unnecessary vowel between /r/ and /n/. Also, the /r/ can be pronounced with a tapped or approximant variation depending on the speaker’s background. Focus on maintaining a clean /æ/ and a direct /di/ ending without a schwa.
Is the second syllable of grande ever pronounced with a soft 'e' like /ə/ or /ɪ/? In standard American, UK, and AU pronunciations presented here, the second syllable is /di/ with a clear /i/; there is no natural schwa or /ɪ/. Some speakers in fast speech might reduce to /dɪ/ or /di/ with a shorter vowel, but the canonical pronunciation remains /ˈɡræn.di/.
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- US: /ˈɡræn.di/, rhoticity not affecting; fronted /æ/ with a crisp /d/; Vowel might be slightly lax in fast speech. - UK: /ˈɡræn.di/, slightly tensed /æ/ and crisper consonants; may sound more clipped. - AU: /ˈɡræn.di/, more precise enunciation; vowel quality similar to US but with Australian vowel neutralization; keep vowels tight and tempo even. IPA references: /ˈɡræn.di/ across accents.
Grande derives from the Latin grande, meaning 'great' or 'large', from grandis. The Latin term evolved into Old French as grandeur or grant, and entered various Romance languages with similar forms. In Spanish and Italian, grande is a common adjective meaning 'large' or 'great'. Its semantic field broadened in English through borrowings in contexts of theater, architecture, and fashion to denote scale and pomp. The word appears in historical texts as grande in the sense of 'grand' in Latin and later Romance derivatives. In English, the form grande occurs in certain fixed phrases (e.g., grande taille), brand names, or borrowed proper nouns, preserving its sense of magnitude or importance while sometimes adopting the gendered or formal tone of its Romance progenitors. The first known use in English likely traces to borrowings during the 16th-18th centuries as explorers and scholars encountered European languages with the term meaning 'grand' or 'noble'. Over time, pronunciation and usage settled into modern forms, with the orthographic 'grande' reflecting the original Romance spelling while pronunciation adapted to English phonotactics.
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Words that rhyme with "grande"
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