How to pronounce “black”
Say “black” in one beat
black
/blæk/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /blak/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- blackblæk
- IPA (American)
- /blæk/
- IPA (British)
- /blak/
- Respelling
- BLAK
- Syllables
- 1 — black
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /blæk/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/blæk/
/blak/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “black” means
- noun
the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
- noun
total absence of light
“they fumbled around in total darkness”
- noun
British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat (1728-1799)
Say it in a sentence
“He wore a black coat to the funeral.”“black”, answered
How do you pronounce “black”?
“black” is pronounced /blæk/ (BLAK) in American English and /blak/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /blæk/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “black” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /blæk/ — a single beat.
Is “black” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /blæk/ (BLAK); British English says /blak/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “black” mean?
As a noun: the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white) For example: “He wore a black coat to the funeral.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “black”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /blæk/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “black” 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.