How to pronounce “banal”
Say “banal” in 2 beats
banal
/bəˈnɑl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /bəˈnɑːl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- banbə
- alnɑlstress
- IPA (American)
- /bəˈnɑl/
- IPA (British)
- /bəˈnɑːl/
- Also accepted
- /bəˈnæl/
- Respelling
- buh-NAHL
- Syllables
- 2 — ban-AL
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ban-AL. “al” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/bəˈnɑl/
/bəˈnɑːl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Also accepted
/bəˈnæl/Where “banal” goes wrong
- Often heard
“BAY-nul”
the stress is on the second syllable: buh-NAHL
What “banal” means
- adjective
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
“bromidic sermons”
Say it in a sentence
“The film looked beautiful but the dialogue was rather banal.”“banal”, answered
How do you pronounce “banal”?
“banal” is pronounced /bəˈnɑl/ (buh-NAHL) in American English and /bəˈnɑːl/ in British English, and /bəˈnæl/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “al”. Build it as ban-AL, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “banal” have?
2: ban · al. The beat lands on the second, “al”.
Is “banal” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /bəˈnɑl/ (buh-NAHL); British English says /bəˈnɑːl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “banal” mean?
As an adjective: repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse For example: “bromidic sermons”
Where is the stress in “banal”?
Stress the second syllable: ban-AL. “al” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “banal” 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.