How to pronounce “category”
Say “category” in 4 beats
category
/ˈkætəˌɡɔɹi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /katɪɡəɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- catkæstress
- egtə
- orɡɔ
- yɹi
- IPA (American)
- /ˈkætəˌɡɔɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /katɪɡəɹi/
- Respelling
- KA-tuh-gaw-ree
- Syllables
- 4 — CAT-eg-or-y
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: CAT-eg-or-y. “cat” 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
/ˈkætəˌɡɔɹi/
/katɪɡəɹi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “category” means
- noun
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
“there are two classes of detergents”
- noun
a general concept that marks divisions or coordinations in a conceptual scheme
Say it in a sentence
“This falls into a category nobody had thought about.”“category”, answered
How do you pronounce “category”?
“category” is pronounced /ˈkætəˌɡɔɹi/ (KA-tuh-gaw-ree) in American English and /katɪɡəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “cat”. Build it as CAT-eg-or-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “category” have?
4: cat · eg · or · y. The beat lands on the first, “cat”.
Is “category” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈkætəˌɡɔɹi/ (KA-tuh-gaw-ree); British English says /katɪɡəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “category” mean?
As a noun: a collection of things sharing a common attribute For example: “there are two classes of detergents” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “category”?
Stress the first syllable: CAT-eg-or-y. “cat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “category” 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.