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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “apocryphal”

“apocryphal” is pronounced /əˈpɑkɹəfəl/ (uh-PAH-kruh-fuhl) in American English and /ɐpɒkɹɪfəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “oc”.
The sound

Say “apocryphal” in 4 beats

Say it like this

apocryphal

/əˈpɑkɹəfəl/

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

4 beats
  1. apə
  2. ocpɑstress
  3. rypkɹə
  4. halfəl
IPA (American)
/əˈpɑkɹəfəl/
IPA (British)
/ɐpɒkɹɪfəl/
Respelling
uh-PAH-kruh-fuhl
Syllables
4 — ap-OC-ryp-hal
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ap-OC-ryp-hal. “oc” 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

/əˈpɑkɹəfəl/

British

/ɐpɒkɹɪfəl/

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

Meaning

What “apocryphal” means

  1. adjective

    being of questionable authenticity

  2. adjective

    of or belonging to the Apocrypha

Say it in a sentence

“That story about the mayor's dog is almost certainly apocryphal.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
əschwa×3ppɑahkkɹrffll

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

Questions

“apocryphal”, answered

How do you pronounce “apocryphal”?

“apocryphal” is pronounced /əˈpɑkɹəfəl/ (uh-PAH-kruh-fuhl) in American English and /ɐpɒkɹɪfəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “oc”. Build it as ap-OC-ryp-hal, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “apocryphal” have?

4: ap · oc · ryp · hal. The beat lands on the second, “oc”.

Is “apocryphal” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈpɑkɹəfəl/ (uh-PAH-kruh-fuhl); British English says /ɐpɒkɹɪfəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “apocryphal” mean?

As an adjective: being of questionable authenticity For example: “That story about the mayor's dog is almost certainly apocryphal.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “apocryphal”?

Stress the second syllable: ap-OC-ryp-hal. “oc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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