To pronounce "pen", say PEN — one syllable, IPA /pɛn/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.
pen
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Accent
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1
Syllable
3
Letters
/pɛn/
IPA
"pen" is a single-syllable word — say it in one clean beat. It rhymes with den and phren, if that helps it stick.
Sounds exactly like: penn, penh — easy to mix up when writing.
noun
“There are two steers in the third pen.”
“They caught him with a stolen horse, and he wound up in the pen again.”
Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.
Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.
"Pen" has one syllable.
The IPA transcription of "pen" is /pɛn/.
Pen: An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
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