Pronunciation

How to pronounce “department

“department” is pronounced /dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/ (di-PAHRT-muhnt) in American English and /dɪpɑːtmənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “art”.
The sound

Say “department” in 3 beats

Say it like this

department

/dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/

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

3 beats
  1. dep
  2. artpɑɹtstress
  3. mentmənt
IPA (American)
/dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/
IPA (British)
/dɪpɑːtmənt/
Respelling
di-PAHRT-muhnt
Syllables
3 — dep-ART-ment
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dep-ART-ment. “art” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/

British

/dɪpɑːtmənt/

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

Meaning

What “department” means

  1. noun

    a specialized division of a large organization

    you'll find it in the hardware department

  2. noun

    the territorial and administrative division of some countries (such as France)

  3. noun

    a specialized sphere of knowledge

    baking is not my department

Say it in a sentence

The history department shares a building with modern languages.
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

department”, answered

How do you pronounce “department”?

“department” is pronounced /dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/ (di-PAHRT-muhnt) in American English and /dɪpɑːtmənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “art”. Build it as dep-ART-ment, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “department” have?

3: dep · art · ment. The beat lands on the second, “art”.

Is “department” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈpɑɹtmənt/ (di-PAHRT-muhnt); British English says /dɪpɑːtmənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “department” mean?

As a noun: a specialized division of a large organization For example: “you'll find it in the hardware department” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “department”?

Stress the second syllable: dep-ART-ment. “art” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “department” 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.