How to pronounce “athletics”
Say “athletics” in 3 beats
athletics
/æθˈlɛtɪks/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /aθˈlɛtɪks/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- athæθ
- letlɛstress
- icstɪks
- IPA (American)
- /æθˈlɛtɪks/
- IPA (British)
- /aθˈlɛtɪks/
- Respelling
- ath-LET-iks
- Syllables
- 3 — ath-LET-ics
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ath-LET-ics. “let” 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
/æθˈlɛtɪks/
/aθˈlɛtɪks/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “athletics” goes wrong
- Often heard
“ath-uh-LET-iks”
no vowel between the th and the l
What “athletics” means
- noun
an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
- noun
a contest between athletes
- noun
participation in sports events as an extracurricular activity
Say it in a sentence
“He gave up athletics after an injury in his second year.”“athletics”, answered
How do you pronounce “athletics”?
“athletics” is pronounced /æθˈlɛtɪks/ (ath-LET-iks) in American English and /aθˈlɛtɪks/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “let”. Build it as ath-LET-ics, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “athletics” have?
3: ath · let · ics. The beat lands on the second, “let”. Read letter by letter it looks like 4 (ath-uh-LET-iks), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 3.
Is “athletics” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /æθˈlɛtɪks/ (ath-LET-iks); British English says /aθˈlɛtɪks/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “athletics” mean?
As a noun: an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition For example: “He gave up athletics after an injury in his second year.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “athletics”?
Stress the second syllable: ath-LET-ics. “let” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “athletics” 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.