Pronunciation

How to pronounce “courteous

“courteous” is pronounced /ˈkɝtiəs/ (KUR-tee-uhs) in American English and /kɜːtiəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kɝ”.
The sound

Say “courteous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

courteous

/ˈkɝtiəs/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. titi
  3. əsəs
IPA (American)
/ˈkɝtiəs/
IPA (British)
/kɜːtiəs/
Respelling
KUR-tee-uhs
Syllables
3 — Kɝ-ti-əs
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Kɝ-ti-əs. “kɝ” 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

/ˈkɝtiəs/

British

/kɜːtiəs/

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

Meaning

What “courteous” means

  1. adjective

    exhibiting courtesy and politeness

    a nice gesture

  2. adjective

    characterized by courtesy and gracious good manners; -Francis Bacon

    if a man be gracious and courteous to strangers it shows he is a citizen of the world

Say it in a sentence

The staff were courteous even at the end of a long day.
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

courteous”, answered

How do you pronounce “courteous”?

“courteous” is pronounced /ˈkɝtiəs/ (KUR-tee-uhs) in American English and /kɜːtiəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kɝ”. Build it as Kɝ-ti-əs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “courteous” have?

3: kɝ · ti · əs. The beat lands on the first, “kɝ”.

Is “courteous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈkɝtiəs/ (KUR-tee-uhs); British English says /kɜːtiəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “courteous” mean?

As an adjective: exhibiting courtesy and politeness For example: “a nice gesture” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “courteous”?

Stress the first syllable: Kɝ-ti-əs. “kɝ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “courteous” 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.