How to pronounce “delegate”
“delegate” is said two ways
/ˈdɛləɡət/
DEL-uh-guht
The representative. Ends in a reduced -guht.
/ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/
DEL-uh-gayt
To hand work to someone else. Ends in a full -gayt.
Listen for the vowel, not the letters
The spelling never moves; the sounds inside it do. Practise the two back to back, so your mouth stops defaulting to whichever one you learnt first.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Each delegate learns to delegate before the second day ends.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “delegate” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “delegate” in 3 beats
delegate
/ˈdɛləɡət/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈdɛlɪɡət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- dɛdɛstress
- lələ
- ɡətɡət
- IPA (American)
- /ˈdɛləɡət/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈdɛlɪɡət/
- Respelling
- DEL-uh-guht (noun) · DEL-uh-gayt (verb)
- Syllables
- 3 — DƐ-lə-ɡət
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: DƐ-lə-ɡət. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the noun form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ˈdɛləɡət/
/ˈdɛlɪɡət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “delegate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“every DEL-uh-gayt at the conference”
the person is DEL-uh-guht; only the verb ends in -gayt
What “delegate” means
- noun
a person appointed or elected to represent others
- verb
transfer power to someone
- verb
give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)
Say it in a sentence
“Each delegate learns to delegate before the second day ends.”“delegate”, answered
How do you pronounce “delegate”?
“delegate” has two pronunciations: /ˈdɛləɡət/ as a noun and /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the sounds inside it do, and nothing on the page tells you which one a sentence wants. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as DƐ-lə-ɡət, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “delegate” have?
3: dɛ · lə · ɡət. The beat lands on the first, “dɛ”.
Which pronunciation of “delegate” is correct?
Both are. /ˈdɛləɡət/ (DEL-uh-guht) as a noun; /ˈdɛləˌɡeɪt/ (DEL-uh-gayt) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does, and the two are as different as any two words. Both appear here: “Each delegate learns to delegate before the second day ends.”
Is “delegate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈdɛləɡət/ (DEL-uh-guht); British English says /ˈdɛlɪɡət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “delegate” mean?
As a noun: a person appointed or elected to represent others For example: “Each delegate learns to delegate before the second day ends.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “delegate”?
Stress the first syllable: DƐ-lə-ɡət. “dɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “delegate” 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.