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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “comparative”

“comparative” is pronounced /kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/ (kuhm-PE-ruh-tiv) in American English and /kəmpaɹətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɛ”.
The sound

Say “comparative” in 4 beats

Say it like this

comparative

/kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/

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

4 beats
  1. kəmkəm
  2. pɛpɛstress
  3. ɹəɹə
  4. tɪvtɪv
IPA (American)
/kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/
IPA (British)
/kəmpaɹətɪv/
Respelling
kuhm-PE-ruh-tiv
Syllables
4 — kəm-PƐ-ɹə-tɪv
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kəm-PƐ-ɹə-tɪv. “pɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/

British

/kəmpaɹətɪv/

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

Meaning

What “comparative” means

  1. noun

    the comparative form of an adjective or adverb

    “`faster' is the comparative of the adjective `fast'”

  2. adjective

    relating to or based on or involving comparison

    “comparative linguistics”

  3. adjective

    estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete

    “a relative stranger”

Say it in a sentence

“The comparative of 'happy' is 'happier', not 'more happy'.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
kkəschwa×2mmppɛshort eɹrttɪshort ivv

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“comparative”, answered

How do you pronounce “comparative”?

“comparative” is pronounced /kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/ (kuhm-PE-ruh-tiv) in American English and /kəmpaɹətɪv/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pɛ”. Build it as kəm-PƐ-ɹə-tɪv, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “comparative” have?

4: kəm · pɛ · ɹə · tɪv. The beat lands on the second, “pɛ”.

Is “comparative” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/ (kuhm-PE-ruh-tiv); British English says /kəmpaɹətɪv/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “comparative” mean?

As a noun: the comparative form of an adjective or adverb For example: “`faster' is the comparative of the adjective `fast'” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “comparative”?

Stress the second syllable: kəm-PƐ-ɹə-tɪv. “pɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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