Pronunciation of "Lives"

Question

I often wonder what is the proper pronunciation of "lives", like how would I pronounce "human lives", am I suppose to pronounce it like:

Leeves

Like i in thing.

Or more like:

Laives

Like i in I'm.

I usually say the "Leeves" way, but I mostly hear people say the "Laives" version.

I would like to know the proper pronunciation of "lives".

This dictionary may help you. I use it myself and it is useful: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lives — , Dec 27 '20 at 06:31

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 27 '20 at 04:45

3

The verb "to live" has a short /ɪ/ sound. It is the same sound as in "sit" (and not the same as in seat or in site)

The noun "a life" and the plural "many lives" has the dipthong /aɪ/ It is the same sound as in "site".

Cats have nine lives (/laɪvz/)

He lives in Boston (/lɪvz/)

edited Dec 27 '20 at 04:45

Void

answered Dec 27 '20 at 01:13

James K

The IPA spelling is important too (/laɪvz/ and /lɪvz/) because different accents will pronounce sounds in different ways. So there's no one correct pronunciation, but there are some common ones, and the consistency with other words is what's important. – cactustictacs Dec 27 '20 at 11:46

1 Answers1