Pronunciation

How to pronounce “clandestine

“clandestine” is pronounced /klænˈdɛstɪn/ (klan-DE-stin) in American English and /klandɛstɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”.
The sound

Say “clandestine” in 3 beats

Say it like this

clandestine

/klænˈdɛstɪn/

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

3 beats
  1. klænklæn
  2. stress
  3. stɪnstɪn
IPA (American)
/klænˈdɛstɪn/
IPA (British)
/klandɛstɪn/
Respelling
klan-DE-stin
Syllables
3 — klæn-DƐ-stɪn
Stress
Stress the second syllable: klæn-DƐ-stɪn. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/klænˈdɛstɪn/

British

/klandɛstɪn/

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

Meaning

What “clandestine” means

  1. adjective

    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods

    clandestine intelligence operations

Say it in a sentence

Their clandestine meetings took place in the back of a bookshop.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

clandestine”, answered

How do you pronounce “clandestine”?

“clandestine” is pronounced /klænˈdɛstɪn/ (klan-DE-stin) in American English and /klandɛstɪn/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɛ”. Build it as klæn-DƐ-stɪn, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “clandestine” have?

3: klæn · dɛ · stɪn. The beat lands on the second, “dɛ”.

Is “clandestine” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /klænˈdɛstɪn/ (klan-DE-stin); British English says /klandɛstɪn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “clandestine” mean?

As an adjective: conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods For example: “clandestine intelligence operations”

Where is the stress in “clandestine”?

Stress the second syllable: klæn-DƐ-stɪn. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “clandestine” 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.