'Breath' is the noun (the breath, the air you take in); 'breathe' is the verb (to breathe).
"Breath" is the noun: the air that goes in and out of your lungs. It's pronounced with a short vowel, /brɛθ/, rhyming with "death".
Take a deep breath before you walk on stage.
She was out of breath after running up the stairs.
He held his breath while the doctor read the results.
"Breathe" is the verb: the action of breathing. It ends in "e" and is pronounced with a soft "th" and a long vowel, /briːð/, rhyming with "seethe".
It's hard to breathe with all this smoke in the air.
Just breathe. Everything is going to be fine.
The doctor asked him to breathe slowly and count to ten.
Common mistake
"I need to breath" is a classic writing mistake: it's missing the final "e" of the verb. The correct verb form is "breathe" (with "e"); "breath" is only the noun.
Trick to remember it
Quick rule: if it ends in "e", it's an action, a verb (breathE = to do it). If it doesn't, it's the thing itself, the noun (breath = the thing). Same pattern as "advice" (noun) / "advise" (verb).
Quick rule
Is it the action of breathing? "Breathe" (verb, with e). Is it the air or the breath itself? "Breath" (noun, no e).
Did you know?
"Breath" and "breathe" are part of a very common English pattern where the form without "e" is the noun and the one with "e" is the verb, with the vowel sound shifting (bath/bathe, cloth/clothe, teeth/teethe). This rule comes from a Middle English pronunciation shift, where adding a silent "e" at the end lengthened the preceding vowel. "Breath" also appears in "out of breath", "catch your breath", and "under your breath" (speaking quietly, literally "under your breath").
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
Remember to _____ deeply during the yoga class, it helps you relax.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
After the sprint, he was gasping for _____, unable to speak for a few seconds.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy