Pronunciation · Words that change with stress

How to pronounce “desert”

DEZ-ut

2 syllables · stress on “DEZ”

DEZut

Britishˈdezət

Americanˈdezərt

In short

“desert” is pronounced DEZ-ut: 2 syllables, with the stress on “DEZ”. Three words collide: desert the noun (DEZ-ut), desert the verb (di-ZURT), and dessert the pudding (di-ZURT, identical to the verb). Only the first is stressed on syllable one. The version to avoid is Saying di-ZURT for the sandy place, which is the verb “to abandon” — and sounds like “dessert”.

Say “desert” in 3 steps

1The sandy place: DEZ-ut, stress first, like “desolate”.
2To abandon: di-ZURT, stress second.
3The pudding, dessert, is also di-ZURT — same sound as the verb, two s's in spelling.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: Saying di-ZURT for the sandy place, which is the verb “to abandon” — and sounds like “dessert”

Three words collide: desert the noun (DEZ-ut), desert the verb (di-ZURT), and dessert the pudding (di-ZURT, identical to the verb). Only the first is stressed on syllable one.

“desert” as a verb

Used when desert means to abandon. It is a homophone of dessert, the pudding.

di-ZURT

dɪˈzɜːt · stress on “ZURT”

diZURT

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Real speakers

2 human recordings

Actual people saying “desert”, not a synthetic voice. Real speech varies — that variation is what you need to recognise, and what a single model voice cannot show you.

Recordings from Wikimedia Commons by Dvortygirl, licensed under Public domain. Full credits.

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The sounds inside this word

Each links to a full guide with mouth position, audio and drills. If a word keeps failing, the problem is usually one of these.

dd as in day ee as in bed zz as in zoo əa as in about (schwa)tt as in tea

More words that change with stress

Same pattern, same fix. Learning them as a group is far faster than one at a time.

presentPREZ-unt recordREK-ord objectOB-jikt subjectSUB-jikt projectPROJ-ekt contractKON-trakt

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce desert?

desert is pronounced DEZ-ut, written /ˈdezət/ in IPA. The sandy place: DEZ-ut, stress first, like “desolate”.

How many syllables are in desert?

two: DEZ-ut. The stress falls on “DEZ”.

What is the most common mistake with desert?

Saying di-ZURT for the sandy place, which is the verb “to abandon” — and sounds like “dessert”. Three words collide: desert the noun (DEZ-ut), desert the verb (di-ZURT), and dessert the pudding (di-ZURT, identical to the verb). Only the first is stressed on syllable one.

Does desert change as a verb?

Yes. Used when desert means to abandon. It is a homophone of dessert, the pudding. That form is pronounced di-ZURT, /dɪˈzɜːt/ in IPA.

What is the difference between desert and dessert?

The dry landscape is DEZ-ut, stressed on the first syllable. The pudding, dessert, is di-ZURT, stressed on the second. Confusingly, the verb desert (to abandon) is also di-ZURT, so it is a homophone of the pudding.

The full sound library

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