The spelling of the word ‘purchase’ can be misleading. It ends like the word ‘chase’ but unlike that word, there is no EY sound (as in ‘day’) in ‘purchase’.
The pronunciation of ‘purchase’ is pur-ch’s [IPA: ˈpɜɹtʃəs].
The primary stress is on the first syllable, and the second syllable is weak and contains a schwa sound.
Watch my tutorial on how to pronounce ‘purchase’:
- pur [IPA: pɜɹ]
The first syllable shifts from the P sound to the STIR sound. It’s as if you shift directly from the P to an R. - ch’s
The second syllable shifts from the CH sound (as in ‘chair’) to the S sound. In between these two sounds there’s a short schwa sound.
‘purchase’ is both a verb and a noun. It can be a more formal way to say ‘buy’, but sometimes it is simply used when buying big or expensive things.
Additional resources:
*The ‘stir’ sound /ɜɹ/ is an R-vowel but unlike other R-vowels in English, the R part is more prominent. Want to learn more about STIR sound and other types of the American R? Watch this free training and practice with the audio sheet.
