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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “activity”

“activity” is pronounced /ækˈtɪvəti/ (ak-TI-vuh-tee) in American English and /aktɪvɪti/ in British English, and /ækˈtɪvɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “tiv”.
The sound

Say “activity” in 4 beats

Say it like this

activity

/ækˈtɪvəti/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /aktɪvɪti/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. acæk
  2. tivtɪstress
  3. itvə
  4. yti
IPA (American)
/ækˈtɪvəti/
IPA (British)
/aktɪvɪti/
Also accepted
/ækˈtɪvɪti/
Respelling
ak-TI-vuh-tee
Syllables
4 — ac-TIV-it-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ac-TIV-it-y. “tiv” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ækˈtɪvəti/

British

/aktɪvɪti/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “activity” means

  1. noun

    any specific behavior

    “they avoided all recreational activity”

  2. noun

    the state of being active

    “his sphere of activity”

  3. noun

    an organic process that takes place in the body

    “respiratory activity”

Say it in a sentence

“Swimming is her favorite activity during the summer holidays.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
æshort akktt×2ɪshort ivvəschwailong e

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“activity”, answered

How do you pronounce “activity”?

“activity” is pronounced /ækˈtɪvəti/ (ak-TI-vuh-tee) in American English and /aktɪvɪti/ in British English, and /ækˈtɪvɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “tiv”. Build it as ac-TIV-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “activity” have?

4: ac · tiv · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “tiv”.

Is “activity” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ækˈtɪvəti/ (ak-TI-vuh-tee); British English says /aktɪvɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “activity” mean?

As a noun: any specific behavior For example: “they avoided all recreational activity” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “activity”?

Stress the second syllable: ac-TIV-it-y. “tiv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “activity” 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.

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