Heteronym
"Live" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say LIV when it means to be alive, to reside (verb), and LYVE when it means happening now, not recorded (adjective). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
verb
LIV
to be alive, to reside
“They live in Boston.”
adjective
LYVE
happening now, not recorded
“It was a live broadcast.”
Each button speaks the respelling, not the spelling — otherwise the speech engine would pick a single default pronunciation for both senses.
| Pronunciation | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| LIV | verb | to be alive, to reside |
| LYVE | adjective | happening now, not recorded |
"Live" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say LIV when it means to be alive, to reside (verb), and LYVE when it means happening now, not recorded (adjective). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced LIV, "live" is a verb meaning to be alive, to reside. For example: "They live in Boston."
Pronounced LYVE, "live" is a adjective meaning happening now, not recorded. For example: "It was a live broadcast."
"Live" is a heteronym: two distinct words that happen to be spelled the same way. English spelling did not standardise around pronunciation, so unrelated words sometimes converged on one spelling while keeping separate sounds.
See the full entry for “live”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.