How to pronounce “archipelago”
Say “archipelago” in 5 beats
archipelago
/ˌɑɹkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- arcɑɹ
- hipkɪ
- elpɛstress
- aglə
- oɡoʊ
- IPA (American)
- /ˌɑɹkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/
- IPA (British)
- /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/
- Also accepted
- /ˌɑɹtʃəpəˈleɪˌɡoʊ/
- Respelling
- ar-kih-PEL-uh-goh
- Syllables
- 5 — arc-hip-EL-ag-o
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: arc-hip-EL-ag-o. “el” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌɑɹkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/
/ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “archipelago” goes wrong
- Often heard
“arch-ih-PEL-uh-go”
the ch is a hard k: ar-kih-PEL-uh-goh
What “archipelago” means
- noun
a group of many islands in a large body of water
Say it in a sentence
“The archipelago has sixty islands, but only nine are inhabited.”“archipelago”, answered
How do you pronounce “archipelago”?
“archipelago” is pronounced /ˌɑɹkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/ (ar-kih-PEL-uh-goh) in American English and /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/ in British English, and /ˌɑɹtʃəpəˈleɪˌɡoʊ/ is also accepted — 5 syllables, stressed on “el”. Build it as arc-hip-EL-ag-o, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “archipelago” have?
5: arc · hip · el · ag · o. The beat lands on the third, “el”.
Is “archipelago” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌɑɹkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/ (ar-kih-PEL-uh-goh); British English says /ˌɑːkɪˈpɛləɡəʊ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “archipelago” mean?
As a noun: a group of many islands in a large body of water For example: “The archipelago has sixty islands, but only nine are inhabited.”
Where is the stress in “archipelago”?
Stress the third syllable: arc-hip-EL-ag-o. “el” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “archipelago” 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.