How to pronounce “ability”
Say “ability” in 4 beats
ability
/əˈbɪləˌti/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐbɪləti/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- abə
- ilbɪstress
- itlə
- yti
- IPA (American)
- /əˈbɪləˌti/
- IPA (British)
- /ɐbɪləti/
- Respelling
- uh-BI-luh-tee
- Syllables
- 4 — ab-IL-it-y
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ab-IL-it-y. “il” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/əˈbɪləˌti/
/ɐbɪləti/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “ability” means
- noun
the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment
- noun
possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done
“danger heightened his powers of discrimination”
Say it in a sentence
“She has a natural ability to calm nervous students.”“ability”, answered
How do you pronounce “ability”?
“ability” is pronounced /əˈbɪləˌti/ (uh-BI-luh-tee) in American English and /ɐbɪləti/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “il”. Build it as ab-IL-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “ability” have?
4: ab · il · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “il”.
Is “ability” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈbɪləˌti/ (uh-BI-luh-tee); British English says /ɐbɪləti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “ability” mean?
As a noun: the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment For example: “She has a natural ability to calm nervous students.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “ability”?
Stress the second syllable: ab-IL-it-y. “il” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “ability” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.