How to pronounce bless in American English

IPA /blɛs/ Syllables 1 · blehs Stress 1st syllable

BLEHS

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Americans pronounce bless as BLEHS (/blɛs/).

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Sounds

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Clarity

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Stress

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Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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"Bless you! Are you feeling okay?"

BLEHS yoo ar yoo FEE·luhng oh·KAY

Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "bless" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "BLEHS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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