4 syllables: Per, se, pol, is. Stress on se.
pur-SEP-uh-luhs
/pɚˈsɛpələs/
Persepolis is pronounced pur-SEP-uh-luhs (/pɚˈsɛpələs/). It has four syllables (Per-se-pol-is), with the stress on "se". Persepolis is a proper noun referring to the ancient Persian capital, notably the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It can also denote the modern graphic memoir by Marjane Satrapi. The term is used primarily in academic, historical, and literary contexts to describe the monumental ruins or the cultural-historical significance of the site and its artifacts.
nounPersepolis is a proper noun referring to the ancient Persian capital, notably the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It can also denote the modern graphic memoir by Marjane Satrapi. The term is used primarily in academic, historical, and literary contexts to describe the monumental ruins or the cultural-historical significance of the site and its artifacts.
- You: you’ll hear speakers flatten the middle vowel, trying to make 'per-SEP-oh-liss' instead of 'per-se-POL-is'. Do: keep the POL syllable prominent and ensure the middle is a reduced vowel /ə/ or /ɪ/ depending on speaker. - You: you might shorten the final 'lis' and make it 'liss'. Do: keep final /lɪs/ crisp, with a light, quick release but audible. - You: misplacements of stress: putting primary stress on 'per' or 'se'. Do: place primary stress on the third syllable '-POL-'; practice with a beat counter until you feel the weight shift.
How to Pronounce Persepolis
"The excavations at Persepolis shed light on Achaemenid architecture and ceremonial life."
"In his lectures on ancient empires, he discusses Persepolis as a symbol of imperial grandeur."
"The graphic novel Persepolis offers a personal narrative set against events that touched Iran’s modern history."
Pronounce as per-se-POL-is, with primary stress on the third syllable. IPA US: ˌpɜːr.seˈpoː.lɪs; UK: ˌpɜː.səˈpɒ.lɪs; AU: ˌpɜː.səˈpɒ.lɪs. Start with an initial 'per' like 'purr' (central vowel), move to a schwa in the second syllable, then stress the 'POL' with a long o, and finish with 'is' like 'iss'. Audio reference: you can hear model pronunciation on Forvo or YouGlish with Persepolis.
Common errors: misplacing stress (putting stress on the second or first syllable); consonant blending like 'per-SEP-oh-liss' or 'per-seh-Pol-iss'; not using a clear long 'o' in the POL part. Corrections: emphasize POL with a longer /oː/ or /oʊ/ quality, ensure the middle syllable uses a neutral schwa or reduced /ə/, and keep final /lɪs/ solid instead of 'lis' as in 'miss'.
US tends to reduce the middle vowel less than UK; stress remains on POL. US /ˌpɜːr.seˈpoː.lɪs/ vs UK /ˌpɜː.səˈpɒ.lɪs/; AU follows UK-like rhythm but may feature a more relaxed /ɒ/ in the second syllable. Emphasize POL with a longer vowel in all accents; the final syllable /lɪs/ remains unstressed. Listen to native pronunciation on YouGlish for region-specific variants.
Three main challenges: first, the sequence -se- in the second syllable can reduce to a schwa, causing mishearing; second, the POL part uses a long 'o' that many speakers shorten; third, final -lis with a light /ɪs/ can blend into a clipped 'lis'. Focus on maintaining syllable weight: PER-se-POL-is with clear POL and final light -is.
A site-specific nuance is the 's' in Persepolis following /se/; in careful speech it’s not a hard 's' but an /s/ continuation of the second syllable, avoiding an extra 'z' sound. You’ll notice a slightly longer first consonant cluster 'per-' followed by a clear short 'ə' in the second syllable; keep the /poː/ long and crisp, and end with a soft /lɪs/.
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- US: less vowel reduction in the second syllable; - UK: strong schwa in the second syllable, longer POL vowel; - AU: similar to UK with a flatter final /ɪs/. IPA references help: US ˌpɜːr.seˈpoː.lɪs, UK ˌpɜː.səˈpɒ.lɪs, AU ˌpɜː.səˈpɒ.lɪs. - Focus on the long /oː/ in POL in all accents; avoid closing the mouth too early. - Keep rhotics subtle in non-rhotic varieties; US keeps /r/ in 'per'.
Persepolis derives from the Old Persian name Pārsa, with the Greek-language suffix -polis meaning 'city.' The site was founded by Darius I in the late 6th century BCE as a ceremonial capital for the Achaemenid Empire, reflecting Persian court culture and monumental architecture. The name entered Greek and Latin texts in classical antiquity, often transliterated as Persepolis. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the city declined but remained a central symbol of Persian imperial power in Western scholarship. In modern times, Persepolis became widely known through epigraphic records and, more recently, as the title of Marjane Satrapi’s 2000 graphic memoir that juxtaposes personal experience with ancient history. The etymological journey from Old Persian through Hellenistic transcription to contemporary English incorporates phonetic adaptation, including the pronunciation shifts of 'Perse-' (/ˈpɜːr.sə/ in US) and the suffix '-polis' (/ˈpɒlɪs/ UK; /ˈpɑːlɪs/ US) and reflects broader patterns of ancient to modern name usage across languages. First attested in Greco-Roman references as
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Words that rhyme with "Persepolis"
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