How to pronounce “cafeteria”
Say “cafeteria” in 5 beats
cafeteria
/ˌkæfəˈtɪɹiə/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kafɪtiəɹiə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kækæ
- fəfə
- tɪtɪstress
- ɹiɹi
- əə
- IPA (American)
- /ˌkæfəˈtɪɹiə/
- IPA (British)
- /kafɪtiəɹiə/
- Respelling
- ka-fuh-TI-ree-uh
- Syllables
- 5 — kæ-fə-TꞮ-ɹi-ə
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: kæ-fə-TꞮ-ɹi-ə. “tɪ” 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
/ˌkæfəˈtɪɹiə/
/kafɪtiəɹiə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “cafeteria” means
- noun
a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier
Say it in a sentence
“The cafeteria serves a hot meal until two o'clock.”“cafeteria”, answered
How do you pronounce “cafeteria”?
“cafeteria” is pronounced /ˌkæfəˈtɪɹiə/ (ka-fuh-TI-ree-uh) in American English and /kafɪtiəɹiə/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “tɪ”. Build it as kæ-fə-TꞮ-ɹi-ə, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “cafeteria” have?
5: kæ · fə · tɪ · ɹi · ə. The beat lands on the third, “tɪ”.
Is “cafeteria” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌkæfəˈtɪɹiə/ (ka-fuh-TI-ree-uh); British English says /kafɪtiəɹiə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “cafeteria” mean?
As a noun: a restaurant where you serve yourself and pay a cashier For example: “The cafeteria serves a hot meal until two o'clock.”
Where is the stress in “cafeteria”?
Stress the third syllable: kæ-fə-TꞮ-ɹi-ə. “tɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “cafeteria” 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.