Pronunciation

How to pronounce “castle

“castle” is pronounced /ˈkæsəl/ (KASS-uhl) in American English and /ˈkɑːsəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cast”.
The sound

Say “castle” in 2 beats

Say it like this

castle

/ˈkæsəl/

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

2 beats
  1. caststress
  2. lesəl
IPA (American)
/ˈkæsəl/
IPA (British)
/ˈkɑːsəl/
Respelling
KASS-uhl
Syllables
2 — CAST-le
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CAST-le. “cast” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkæsəl/

British

/ˈkɑːsəl/

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

Watch out

Where “castle” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    CAST-ul

    the t is silent: KASS-uhl

Meaning

What “castle” means

  1. noun

    a large and stately mansion

  2. noun

    a large building formerly occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack

  3. noun

    (chess) the piece that can move any number of unoccupied squares in a direction parallel to the sides of the chessboard

Say it in a sentence

The castle on the hill is older than the town below it.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

castle”, answered

How do you pronounce “castle”?

“castle” is pronounced /ˈkæsəl/ (KASS-uhl) in American English and /ˈkɑːsəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cast”. Build it as CAST-le, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “castle” have?

2: cast · le. The beat lands on the first, “cast”.

Is “castle” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkæsəl/ (KASS-uhl); British English says /ˈkɑːsəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “castle” mean?

As a noun: a large and stately mansion For example: “The castle on the hill is older than the town below it.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “castle”?

Stress the first syllable: CAST-le. “cast” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “castle” and see every sound

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