English pronunciation · Words Starting with A

Alive Pronunciation

Alive is pronounced uh-LYV, IPA /əˈlaɪv/.

uh-LYV

US /əˈlaɪv/  ·  UK /əˈlaɪv/

Syllables: uh · LYV (2 syllables, stress on syllable 2)

adjective: Living, or full of energy and activity.

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Alive in a Sentence

  • The plant was still alive under all that frost.
  • The square comes alive after eight in the evening.
  • He is the only one alive who remembers the flood.

Common Mispronunciations of Alive

Not A-liv

The beat is on the second syllable and the vowel there is long. Fronting it gives something close to olive.

Not uh-LEEV

The ive ending takes the eye sound here, as in hive and drive. A long ee belongs to the verb relieve.

Tip: Rhymes with five. The related adjective live, as in live music, rhymes with it too, though the verb live does not.

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