Pronunciation

How to pronounce “characters

“characters” is pronounced /ˈkæɹəktɚz/ (KA-ruhk-tuhz) in American English and /kaɹɪktəz/ in British English, and /ˈkɛɹəktɚz/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “char”.
The sound

Say “characters” in 3 beats

Say it like this

characters

/ˈkæɹəktɚz/

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

3 beats
  1. charstress
  2. acɹək
  3. terstɚz
IPA (American)
/ˈkæɹəktɚz/
IPA (British)
/kaɹɪktəz/
Also accepted
/ˈkɛɹəktɚz/
Respelling
KA-ruhk-tuhz
Syllables
3 — CHAR-ac-ters
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CHAR-ac-ters. “char” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈkæɹəktɚz/

British

/kaɹɪktəz/

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

Meaning

What “characters” means

  1. noun

    an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story)

    she is the main character in the novel

  2. noun

    a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something

    each town has a quality all its own

  3. noun

    the inherent complex of attributes that determines a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions; - Herbert Spencer

    education has for its object the formation of character

Say it in a sentence

The novel follows several characters through a single summer.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

characters”, answered

How do you pronounce “characters”?

“characters” is pronounced /ˈkæɹəktɚz/ (KA-ruhk-tuhz) in American English and /kaɹɪktəz/ in British English, and /ˈkɛɹəktɚz/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “char”. Build it as CHAR-ac-ters, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “characters” have?

3: char · ac · ters. The beat lands on the first, “char”.

Is “characters” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkæɹəktɚz/ (KA-ruhk-tuhz); British English says /kaɹɪktəz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “characters” mean?

As a noun: an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story) For example: “she is the main character in the novel” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “characters”?

Stress the first syllable: CHAR-ac-ters. “char” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “characters” 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.