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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “capital”

“capital” is pronounced /ˈkæpətəl/ (KA-puh-tuhl) in American English and /kapɪtəl/ in British English, and /ˈkæpɪtəl/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “cap”.
The sound

Say “capital” in 3 beats

Say it like this

capital

/ˈkæpətəl/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kapɪtəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. capkæstress
  2. itpə
  3. altəl
IPA (American)
/ˈkæpətəl/
IPA (British)
/kapɪtəl/
Also accepted
/ˈkæpɪtəl/
Respelling
KA-puh-tuhl
Syllables
3 — CAP-it-al
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CAP-it-al. “cap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkæpətəl/

British

/kapɪtəl/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “capital” means

  1. noun

    assets available for use in the production of further assets

  2. noun

    wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value

  3. noun

    a seat of government

Say it in a sentence

“Raising the capital took longer than building the workshop.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
kkæshort appəschwa×2ttll

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“capital”, answered

How do you pronounce “capital”?

“capital” is pronounced /ˈkæpətəl/ (KA-puh-tuhl) in American English and /kapɪtəl/ in British English, and /ˈkæpɪtəl/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “cap”. Build it as CAP-it-al, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “capital” have?

3: cap · it · al. The beat lands on the first, “cap”.

Is “capital” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkæpətəl/ (KA-puh-tuhl); British English says /kapɪtəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “capital” mean?

As a noun: assets available for use in the production of further assets For example: “Raising the capital took longer than building the workshop.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “capital”?

Stress the first syllable: CAP-it-al. “cap” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “capital” and see every sound

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