<break> tags to insert an explicit silence at a specific point —
before a verification code, between list items, or wherever punctuation alone
doesn’t give you the pause you want.
Syntax
Use the self-closing form. Attribute values may use single or double quotes.
Durations are snapped
The model is trained on three discrete pause lengths: 200 ms, 400 ms, and 500 ms. Whatever you request is snapped to the nearest trained value (ties resolve to the longer pause), so the effective pauses are:
Need a silence longer than 500 ms? Chain tags:
<break time="500ms"/><break time="500ms"/> ≈ 1 s.
Example
- Python
- JavaScript
- cURL
Notes & limits
- Breaks survive normalization. The text around a break is normalized
independently and the pause is re-inserted afterwards, so
normalize: trueand break tags compose. - Model support:
kugel-3supports break tags (see Models). On models without break support the tags are stripped and synthesis continues without the pause. - Punctuation first. For natural rhythm, commas/periods/ellipses are usually better — see Punctuation as pacing. Breaks are for deliberate silences of a specific length.
- Inside
<spell>blocks, don’t place break tags — use the spell tag’sgroupattribute for paced codes instead.