How to pronounce “capacity”
Say “capacity” in 4 beats
capacity
/kəˈpæsəti/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kəpasɪti/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- capkə
- acpæstress
- itsə
- yti
- IPA (American)
- /kəˈpæsəti/
- IPA (British)
- /kəpasɪti/
- Also accepted
- /kəˈpæsɪti/
- Respelling
- kuh-PA-suh-tee
- Syllables
- 4 — cap-AC-it-y
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: cap-AC-it-y. “ac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/kəˈpæsəti/
/kəpasɪti/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “capacity” means
- noun
capability to perform or produce
“among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism”
- noun
the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment
“the capability of a metal to be fused”
- noun
the amount that can be contained
“the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons”
Say it in a sentence
“The little theatre has a capacity of ninety-four seats.”“capacity”, answered
How do you pronounce “capacity”?
“capacity” is pronounced /kəˈpæsəti/ (kuh-PA-suh-tee) in American English and /kəpasɪti/ in British English, and /kəˈpæsɪti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “ac”. Build it as cap-AC-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “capacity” have?
4: cap · ac · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “ac”.
Is “capacity” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /kəˈpæsəti/ (kuh-PA-suh-tee); British English says /kəpasɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “capacity” mean?
As a noun: capability to perform or produce For example: “among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “capacity”?
Stress the second syllable: cap-AC-it-y. “ac” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “capacity” 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.