3 syllables: St The, rese Li, sieux. Stress on sieux.
saynt tuh-REEZ liz-yoo
/seɪnt təˈriːz lɪˌzjuː/
St Therese Lisieux is pronounced saynt tuh-REEZ liz-yoo (/seɪnt təˈriːz lɪˌzjuː/). It has three syllables (St The-rese Li-sieux), with the stress on "sieux". As a noun, a French Catholic saint, Therese of Lisieux, canonized in 1925, known for her “Little Way” of spiritual devotion. The title “St.” abbreviates Saint, and Lisieux is the town in Normandy where she grew up. The full name is often rendered in English as “Saint Therese of Lisieux” for clarity in religious contexts.
nounA French Catholic saint, Therese of Lisieux, canonized in 1925, known for her “Little Way” of spiritual devotion. The title “St.” abbreviates Saint, and Lisieux is the town in Normandy where she grew up. The full name is often rendered in English as “Saint Therese of Lisieux” for clarity in religious contexts.
- You say Therese as TER-es instead of tuh-REEZ; correct by placing primary stress on the second syllable and making the r a soft, unstressed sound. - Lisieux: avoid /ˈlaɪsiɔː/ or /ˈlɪziˌoʊ/; aim for French-like /lisjø/ with nasal vowel; if anglicized, /lɪˈzuː/ with final zhoo-like sound. - Don’t drop the final -eux vowel; retain rounded lip position and nasalization for the final syllable. - Use a slight pause between Therese and Lisieux to avoid blending; you’ll hear a natural break in native audio.
How to Pronounce St Therese Lisieux
"Saint Therese of Lisieux is the patron saint of missions and child welfare."
"The biography of St Therese Lisieux is a staple in Catholic studies courses."
"Many people visit the Shrine of Saint Therese of Lisieux in France to pray."
US/UK/AU IPA (approx): Saint Therese of Lisieux: /ˌseɪnt θəˈriːz əv lɪˈzuː/ (Anglicized ending). A closer French-influenced variant is /ˈsɛ̃t teʁɛz də lisjø/ where the second word’s stress is on Therese and Lisieux ends with a nasalized “jø” sound. Emphasize the second syllable of Therese (rhymes with “three- z”). Tip: keep Therese as TER-eze and Lisieux as LEE-zjø or LEE-zhyou depending on formality. Audio reference: consult a native speaker audio for the Lisieux ending.”,
Common errors include anglicizing Therese too much by saying /ˈtɛriːz/ instead of /θəˈriːz/ and mispronouncing Lisieux as /ˈlaɪsiˌjuː/ or /ˈlɪsaɪjuː/. Correct form uses /θəˈriːz/ for Therese (stress on riːz) and /lisjø/ (French) or /ˈlɪziˌoʊ/ in anglicized versions. Be mindful of a nasal vowel in the French version. Maintain slight nasalization on -ieu ending when using the French variant.
US: /ˌseɪnt θəˈriːz əv lɪˈzuː/. UK: similar, but with non-rhotic r; AU: often closer to US, but with broader vowel quality in Therese. Lisieux often approximated as /ˈlɪˌzjuː/ in English; French variant /lisjø/ has nasal vowel and final -jø sound. Focus on the -zeɪːz vs -zjø endings; listen to native French for Lisieux and adapt to your target accent.
Two main challenges: 1) Therese’s second syllable /riː/ requires accurate tongue height and lip rounding to avoid a flat or schwa-like vowel; 2) Lisieux contains the French nasal vowel /jø/ with lip rounding and a palatal nasal nuance that’s unfamiliar to many English speakers. Also, the final cluster -eux in Lisieux can be mispronounced as /juː/ or /oʊ/; aiming for /jø/ or /jø/ is more faithful to French. IPA references help map these sounds precisely.
The unique feature is the French-origin ending -eux in Lisieux, which yields a nasal vowel and rounded lips: in many English renderings you’ll hear /lɪˈzuː/ or /lisˈjø/ depending on whether you adopt an Anglicized or French pronunciation. Practically, you want to maintain the /jø/ or /jø̃/ diphthong in careful speech, with correct stress placement: Therese often carries primary stress on the second syllable while Lisieux’s ending receives a light but distinct contour.
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The name Therese derives from the French form of Theresa, adapted from the Greek name Thérèse (Θέτρος) with possible connections to the Turkish name Tereze and the Arabic word for ‘to harvest’ in some linguistic theories, but in Catholic usage it is linked to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Lisieux is the anglicized spelling of the French town Lisieux (Cité Lisieux), located in the Calvados department in Normandy. The title St (Saint) is the conventional English abbreviation used before the name of a saint. The compound “Saint Therese of Lisieux” reflects English-language hagiographic convention. First known literary attestations of her name in English appear in late 19th to early 20th century Catholic literature, as her popularity spread in the English-speaking world after her canonization in 1925. Over time, translations and common usage settled on “St Therese Lisieux” as a compact reference in both scholarly and devotional contexts. The form Lisieux itself preserves the nasalized French pronunciation and orthography that signals her origin from Normandy. The full, formal English rendering includes “Saint” for reverence and “of Lisieux” to indicate geographic origin, with choices in some contexts to use “of Lisieux” or “of Lisieux (St Therese)”.
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Words that rhyme with "St Therese Lisieux"
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