Pronunciation

How to pronounce “chicanery

“chicanery” is pronounced /ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/ (shi-KAY-nuh-ee) in American English and /ʃɪkeɪnəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “an”.
The sound

Say “chicanery” in 4 beats

Say it like this

chicanery

/ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/

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

4 beats
  1. chicʃɪ
  2. ankeɪstress
  3. er
  4. yi
IPA (American)
/ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/
IPA (British)
/ʃɪkeɪnəɹi/
Respelling
shi-KAY-nuh-ee
Syllables
4 — chic-AN-er-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: chic-AN-er-y. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/

British

/ʃɪkeɪnəɹi/

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

Meaning

What “chicanery” means

  1. noun

    the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

Say it in a sentence

The whole deal collapsed once the chicanery came to light.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

chicanery”, answered

How do you pronounce “chicanery”?

“chicanery” is pronounced /ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/ (shi-KAY-nuh-ee) in American English and /ʃɪkeɪnəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “an”. Build it as chic-AN-er-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “chicanery” have?

4: chic · an · er · y. The beat lands on the second, “an”.

Is “chicanery” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ʃɪˈkeɪnɚi/ (shi-KAY-nuh-ee); British English says /ʃɪkeɪnəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “chicanery” mean?

As a noun: the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them) For example: “The whole deal collapsed once the chicanery came to light.”

Where is the stress in “chicanery”?

Stress the second syllable: chic-AN-er-y. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “chicanery” and see every sound

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