Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bless you

/ˈblɛs juː/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.17 in modern English

Syllables: bless y-ou
IPA: /ˈblɛs juː/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

intj

Short for (may) God bless you: said as a short prayer for the recipient.

intj

Said to someone who has just sneezed, as a polite remark.

intj

Used to express non-understanding of someone who has just used an unusual or foreign word or phrase (as if to imply that it sounds like a sneeze).

Humorous

Example Sentences

"‘What’s that?’ said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding. ‘Bouillabaisse,’ said Hermione. ‘Bless you,’ said Ron. ‘It’s French,’ said Hermione. ‘I had it on holiday, summer before last, it’s very nice.’"

Etymology

Short for God bless you, from Middle English God blesse you, God blisse you.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: God blesse you

Usage

Humorous

Inflected Forms

bless you ! (canonical)

Synonyms

gesundheit

Questions

How do you pronounce bless you?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈblɛs juː/.
What does bless you mean?: Short for (may) God bless you: said as a short prayer for the recipient.
Where does bless you come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce bless you

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bless you”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈblɛs juː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bless you”.
Repeat and practice — Say “bless you” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.