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Pronounce Suite, Suit, and Sweet

Posted On: April 19, 2015

Have you ever wondered how to pronounce suite, suit, and sweet? Do these words sound the same or are they pronounced differently?

It has come to my attention that many are pronouncing SUITE as SUIT.

SUITE is pronounced exactly the same as SWEET. (Click here to hear the pronunciation.)

If you have a sweet tooth and love to eat SWEETS, you can surely get the right pronunciation of SUITE. In the image in this post, “sweet” is used as an idiom or a type of a slang to mean something “really good.” (Click here to hear the pronunciation.)

On the other, hand, SUIT rhymes with words like boot, brute, hoot, loot, and route, root, and toot. (Click here to hear the pronunciation.)

 

How do I pronounce Suite, Sweet or Suit?

Definitions of Suit and Suite
Let’s look at the meanings of these two words (which is also explored in the video above).

What is a SUIT? 
A SUIT is defined as a set of clothes to that create a tailored outfit.

What is a SUITE? 
The word suite has a few different meanings. 

In the IT world, the word “suite” is a common term used to describe a collection of computer programs —usually application software or programming software— of related functionality, often sharing a more-or-less common user interface and some ability to smoothly exchange data with each other. (Defined by Wikipedia.)  


For instance, a very popular software suite most of the world loves and, at the same time, loathes, is Microsoft Office. The Office suite is nothing but a collection of tools with similar functionality that work together to help with office productivity. 

Suite can also mean a set of rooms utilized for a particular purpose. Two kinds of suites come to mind- a suite in a hotel and an office suite, also known as an executive suite. A suite in a hotel is a set of living spaces connected together that tends to be larger than a typical hotel room. So, a hotel suite would have, in addition to a bed and attached bathroom, a living area, an eating or kitchen area, and other spaces. In some cases, the hotel suite’s living spaces are partitioned by an actual wall with a door, or in other cases, by a partition or half wall. 

See also: Difference between Hotel and Motel

Hotel Suite with Half Partition Wall Photo credit: Jennifer Kumar

 

Hotel Suite With Full Walls and Doors. Feels Like an Apartment. Photo credit: Cleartrip

An office suite or executive suite could be a posher version of an office or a series of rooms inside of a particular office. For example, if it was a posher version of an office, the office room would include furniture and spaces in addition to just the desk and chair. This could include a sitting area with couches or another workspace with an additional table and chairs. In other cases, an office suite may be a series of rooms used in a business setting. In addition to an office with a desk, it may have an attached sitting or reception area, break rooms, conference rooms, and other amenities. 

An Office Room Suite with a Separate Work/Sitting Area Photo Credit: Executive Suite Professionals	.

I hope this post has helped you to distinguish between the two words suite and suit. Try saying the two words in the same sentence: I wore my suit in the suite. It is a ridiculous sentence, but if you can hear yourself pronouncing these two words differently, you are on the right track!



Jennifer Kumar provides Business English Consulting and Cross-Cultural Solutions to build your virtual, global team. Contact us for more information.


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