English is weird. Let’s just start there. You see a word like "prejudice" and your brain immediately tries to divide it into logical chunks based on how it’s spelled. Pre. Ju. Dice. But if you’ve ever actually listened to a native speaker—or tried to read Jane Austen aloud without tripping over your own tongue—you know that the spelling is a total trap.
How do you pronounce prejudice? It’s a three-syllable journey that starts strong and ends with a soft thud.
Most people mess up the ending. They see "dice" and they want to say it like the little cubes you throw in a board game. Don't do that. It sounds clunky. It sounds wrong. Honestly, the word is one of those linguistic hurdles that separates the casual learners from the people who actually get the rhythm of the language. It’s about stress. It’s about the "schwa." It’s about realizing that English vowels are basically liars.
Breaking Down the Phonetics
If we look at the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which is the gold standard for linguists at places like Oxford or Merriam-Webster, the word is written as /ˈprɛdʒədɪs/.
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That first syllable is PREJ. It rhymes with "edge" or "ledge." You want a sharp, short "e" sound. Don't drag it out. It’s punchy. You’re hitting that "P" and "R" hard and moving straight into the "J" sound.
Then comes the middle. This is where the "schwa" lives. In linguistics, the schwa is that neutral, lazy vowel sound that sounds like "uh." In prejudice, the "u" isn't a "yoo" or an "oo." It’s just a tiny bridge. PREJ-uh. If you spend more than a millisecond on this syllable, you’re overthinking it.
Finally, the end: diss.
Not "dice." Not "deece." Just a quick, hissed "diss," like the beginning of the word "distant." When you put it all together, it flows like a downward staircase: PREJ-uh-diss. The stress is heavy on the first syllable, and then the word just sort of falls away.
Why the Spelling is So Misleading
Blame the French. Seriously. Most of our "-ice" words in English come from Old French roots, and we’ve spent centuries mangling them into our own Germanic-influenced stress patterns.
Think about the word "justice." You don't say "just-ICE." You say "jus-tiss." Same goes for "service" or "notice." The "i" becomes short because it’s an unstressed syllable at the end of a word. Prejudice follows this exact same rule.
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The problem is that our eyes see "dice" and "price" and "mice," which all have that long "I" sound. Those are single-syllable words where the "i" is the star of the show. In a long, multi-syllabic word like prejudice, the "i" loses its power. It gets squashed.
Common Mistakes and Regional Ticks
You’ll hear variations, of course. Language isn't a monolith. If you’re in certain parts of the UK, that middle syllable might almost disappear entirely, turning it into something that sounds like "PREJ-diss." It’s faster. More clipped.
In some American dialects, particularly in the South, you might hear a slightly elongated first vowel, almost a "PRAY-juh-diss," though that’s less common in professional settings.
The biggest "tell" that someone is struggling with the word isn't the vowels, though—it's the "d" and "j" interaction. Some people try to keep the "d" in "pre-jud" separate from the "j," which leads to a stuttering "pre-jud-ice." It’s awkward. In natural speech, that "d" and "j" merge into a single "j" sound (an affricate, if you want to be nerdy about it).
Using it Correctly in Context
It’s a heavy word. You aren't usually talking about something light when you use it. Whether you’re discussing social issues or just a "prejudice" against pineapple on pizza, the pronunciation needs to be confident.
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Interestingly, people often confuse the noun/verb "prejudice" with the adjective "prejudiced."
"He is prejudice" is grammatically incorrect.
"He is prejudiced" (with a 't' sound at the end) is the right way to go.
When you add that "d" at the end for the adjective, the pronunciation changes again—the "s" sound in "diss" turns into a "st" sound: PREJ-uh-dist.
Practical Ways to Master the Sound
If you’re still feeling shaky, try the "building block" method. It sounds silly, but it works for broadcasters and actors.
Start with "edge."
Then say "prej."
Add the "uh."
Add the "diss."
Slow it down until the transitions feel smooth. Then, speed it up until it sounds like one cohesive unit. Listen to recordings of experts—think of journalists on the BBC or NPR. They have to say this word a lot. They almost always land on that short, sharp "diss" at the end.
Key Takeaways for Perfect Speech
- Stress the first syllable. Everything else is secondary.
- The 'u' is a ghost. Don't give it a full vowel sound; keep it neutral.
- Ignore the 'dice'. It’s 'diss', 100% of the time.
- Watch the 'd'. It blends into the 'j' sound naturally.
Record yourself on your phone. Seriously. Speak a sentence like, "The jury must act without prejudice," and play it back. You’ll hear immediately if you’re over-pronouncing the end of the word. Once you stop trying to make the spelling "make sense," the sound usually falls right into place.