pronouncing
A simple interface for the CMU pronouncing dictionary
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Low install friction, active maintenance, permissive MIT license, no vulnerabilities, and a focused single-purpose design make this a safe choice for any project needing CMU dictionary lookups. The single dependency (cmudict) is standard and well-maintained. Install if you need rhyme or pronunciation queries without NLTK's larger footprint.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (cmudict).
- Actively maintained as of 2026-04-17 with 323 repository stars and no known vulnerabilities.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-04-17 (119 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-17 · 323 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 102,403 downloads/mo, #12,871 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pronouncing
import pronouncing
rhymes = pronouncing.rhymes("climbing")
print(rhymes)- Whether the package's rhyme-finding algorithm handles edge cases like homophones or variant pronunciations
- Performance characteristics when querying large numbers of words or complex phonetic patterns
What it is and what it does
Pronouncing wraps the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary in a lightweight Python interface, letting you look up pronunciations and find rhyming words without the overhead of installing NLTK. It depends on cmudict for the underlying phonetic data and exposes functions like rhymes() to query words by their sound patterns. The package is designed for developers, educators, and researchers who need phonetic lookups in their code.
Typical use cases include building rhyme generators, analyzing word sounds in poetry or music applications, and educational tools that teach pronunciation. The package has been actively maintained since its 2015 release and carries no known security vulnerabilities.
Use it for
- Generate rhyming word suggestions for poetry, songwriting, or creative writing tools
- Build pronunciation-aware word games or educational applications
- Analyze phonetic patterns in text for linguistic research or NLP experiments
- Create word-search or word-puzzle solvers that match on sound rather than spelling
- Teach pronunciation and phonetics concepts in educational software
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Low install friction, active maintenance, permissive MIT license, no vulnerabilities, and a focused single-purpose design make this a safe choice for any project needing CMU dictionary lookups. The single dependency (cmudict) is standard and well-maintained. Install if you need rhyme or pronunciation queries without NLTK's larger footprint.
Install
pronouncing on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (cmudict). Actively maintained as of 2026-04-17 with 323 repository stars and no known vulnerabilities.
Requires Python 3.9 or later.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install pronouncing
import pronouncing
rhymes = pronouncing.rhymes("climbing")
print(rhymes)Verify before relying
- Whether the package's rhyme-finding algorithm handles edge cases like homophones or variant pronunciations
- Performance characteristics when querying large numbers of words or complex phonetic patterns
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagecmudict |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 119 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 102,403 / month, #12,871 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: EducationIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Artistic Software |
Evidence: pronouncing-0.3.0-py3-none-any.whl
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However, verify compatibility with your Python version first—requires_python is unspecified, and the last release was 2016-08-24.
Pyphonetics implements phonetic matching algorithms (Soundex, Metaphone, Refined Soundex, Fuzzy Soundex, Lein, Matching Rating Approach) to find words that sound alike and measure phonetic distance between them.
However, verify compatibility with your Python version and consider whether you need active maintenance before committing to it in production.
See also g2pkk · gruut-lang-en · phonemizer · phonetics