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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “delicacy”

“delicacy” is pronounced /ˈdɛləkəsi/ (DE-luh-kuh-see) in American English and /dɛlɪkəsi/ in British English, and /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “del”.
The sound

Say “delicacy” in 4 beats

Say it like this

delicacy

/ˈdɛləkəsi/

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

4 beats
  1. deldɛstress
  2. iclə
  3. ackə
  4. ysi
IPA (American)
/ˈdɛləkəsi/
IPA (British)
/dɛlɪkəsi/
Also accepted
/ˈdɛlɪkəsi/
Respelling
DE-luh-kuh-see
Syllables
4 — DEL-ic-ac-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DEL-ic-ac-y. “del” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdɛləkəsi/

British

/dɛlɪkəsi/

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

Meaning

What “delicacy” means

  1. noun

    the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance

    “the daintiness of her touch”

  2. noun

    something considered choice to eat

  3. noun

    refined taste; tact

Say it in a sentence

“Smoked eel is considered a delicacy along this coast.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɛshort elləschwa×2kkssilong e

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

Questions

“delicacy”, answered

How do you pronounce “delicacy”?

“delicacy” is pronounced /ˈdɛləkəsi/ (DE-luh-kuh-see) in American English and /dɛlɪkəsi/ in British English, and /ˈdɛlɪkəsi/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “del”. Build it as DEL-ic-ac-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “delicacy” have?

4: del · ic · ac · y. The beat lands on the first, “del”.

Is “delicacy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdɛləkəsi/ (DE-luh-kuh-see); British English says /dɛlɪkəsi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “delicacy” mean?

As a noun: the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance For example: “the daintiness of her touch” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “delicacy”?

Stress the first syllable: DEL-ic-ac-y. “del” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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