Pronunciation · Words that change with stress

How to pronounce “permit”

PUR-mit

2 syllables · stress on “PUR”

PURmit

Britishˈpɜːmɪt

Americanˈpɜːrmɪt

In short

“permit” is pronounced PUR-mit: 2 syllables, with the stress on “PUR”. Both forms are common and the meanings are closely related, so context does not disambiguate them the way it does for object or contract. Stress carries the whole load. The version to avoid is pur-MIT for the document.

Say “permit” in 3 steps

1Noun (a document): PUR-mit.
2Verb (to allow): pur-MIT.
3In the noun, the second syllable reduces; in the verb it takes a clear short /ɪ/.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: pur-MIT for the document

Both forms are common and the meanings are closely related, so context does not disambiguate them the way it does for object or contract. Stress carries the whole load.

“permit” as a verb

Used when permit means to allow.

pur-MIT

pəˈmɪt · stress on “MIT”

purMIT

Hear real people say it

Model audio is consistent; real speech is not. Hearing several actual speakers is what makes a word recognisable when someone says it at full speed.

Real speakers

2 human recordings

Actual people saying “permit”, 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 CC BY-SA 3.0. Full credits.

Practise it out loud

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Say it yourself

0/6 practised

Listen first, then record. You get feedback on the individual sounds, the stress and the rhythm — no account needed, and nothing is stored.

Three speakers per accent

Recordings are used only to generate this feedback and are not stored. Your accent is never penalised: IELTS scores intelligibility, and so do we.

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.

pp as in pen ɜːer as in bird mm as in man ɪi as in sit 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 permit?

permit is pronounced PUR-mit, written /ˈpɜːmɪt/ in IPA. Noun (a document): PUR-mit.

How many syllables are in permit?

two: PUR-mit. The stress falls on “PUR”.

What is the most common mistake with permit?

pur-MIT for the document. Both forms are common and the meanings are closely related, so context does not disambiguate them the way it does for object or contract. Stress carries the whole load.

Does permit change as a verb?

Yes. Used when permit means to allow. That form is pronounced pur-MIT, /pəˈmɪt/ in IPA.

The full sound library

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