Web/API/SpeechSynthesis/pause

This is an experimental technologyCheck the Browser compatibility table carefully before using this in production.

The pause() method of the SpeechSynthesis interface puts the SpeechSynthesis object into a paused state.

Syntax

speechSynthesisInstance.pause();

Returns

Void.

Parameters

None.

Examples

var synth = window.speechSynthesis;

var utterance1 = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance('How about we say this now? This is quite a long sentence to say.');
var utterance2 = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance('We should say another sentence too, just to be on the safe side.');

synth.speak(utterance1);
synth.speak(utterance2);

synth.pause(); // pauses utterances being spoken

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Web Speech APIThe definition of 'pause()' in that specification.	Draft

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`pause` Experimental'	Chrome Full support 33	Edge Full support 14	Firefox Full support 49	IE No support No	Opera Full support 21	Safari Full support 7	WebView Android Full support 4.4.3 Notes' Full support 4.4.3 Notes' Notes' In Android, `pause()` ends the current utterance. `pause()` behaves the same as `cancel()`.	Chrome Android Full support 33 Notes' Full support 33 Notes' Notes' In Android, `pause()` ends the current utterance. `pause()` behaves the same as `cancel()`.	Firefox Android Full support 62 Notes' Full support 62 Notes' Notes' In Android, `pause()` ends the current utterance. `pause()` behaves the same as `cancel()`. No support 61 — 62 Notes' Disabled' Notes' In Android, `pause()` ends the current utterance. `pause()` behaves the same as `cancel()`. Disabled' From version 61 until version 62 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `media.webspeech.synth.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS Full support 7	Samsung Internet Android Full support 3.0 Notes' Full support 3.0 Notes' Notes' In Android, `pause()` ends the current utterance. `pause()` behaves the same as `cancel()`.

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.': Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.