Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cities

“cities” is pronounced /ˈsɪtiz/ (SI-teez) in American English and /sɪtiz/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cit”.
The sound

Say “cities” in 2 beats

Say it like this

cities

/ˈsɪtiz/

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

2 beats
  1. citstress
  2. iestiz
IPA (American)
/ˈsɪtiz/
IPA (British)
/sɪtiz/
Respelling
SI-teez
Syllables
2 — CIT-ies
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CIT-ies. “cit” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsɪtiz/

British

/sɪtiz/

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

Meaning

What “cities” means

  1. noun

    a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

    Ancient Troy was a great city

  2. noun

    an incorporated administrative district established by state charter

    the city raised the tax rate

  3. noun

    people living in a large densely populated municipality

    the city voted for Republicans in 1994

Say it in a sentence

They visited several cities along the coast that summer.
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

cities”, answered

How do you pronounce “cities”?

“cities” is pronounced /ˈsɪtiz/ (SI-teez) in American English and /sɪtiz/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cit”. Build it as CIT-ies, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “cities” have?

2: cit · ies. The beat lands on the first, “cit”.

Is “cities” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɪtiz/ (SI-teez); British English says /sɪtiz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cities” mean?

As a noun: a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts For example: “Ancient Troy was a great city” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “cities”?

Stress the first syllable: CIT-ies. “cit” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “cities” 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.