Pronunciation

How to pronounce “affable

“affable” is pronounced /ˈæfəbəl/ (A-fuh-buhl) in American English and /afəbəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “af”.
The sound

Say “affable” in 3 beats

Say it like this

affable

/ˈæfəbəl/

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

3 beats
  1. afæstress
  2. fab
  3. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ˈæfəbəl/
IPA (British)
/afəbəl/
Respelling
A-fuh-buhl
Syllables
3 — AF-fab-le
Stress
Stress the first syllable: AF-fab-le. “af” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈæfəbəl/

British

/afəbəl/

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

Meaning

What “affable” means

  1. adjective

    diffusing warmth and friendliness

    an affable smile

Say it in a sentence

Our new neighbour is affable and always stops for a chat.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

affable”, answered

How do you pronounce “affable”?

“affable” is pronounced /ˈæfəbəl/ (A-fuh-buhl) in American English and /afəbəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “af”. Build it as AF-fab-le, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “affable” have?

3: af · fab · le. The beat lands on the first, “af”.

Is “affable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈæfəbəl/ (A-fuh-buhl); British English says /afəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “affable” mean?

As an adjective: diffusing warmth and friendliness For example: “an affable smile”

Where is the stress in “affable”?

Stress the first syllable: AF-fab-le. “af” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “affable” 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.