Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ecosystem

“ecosystem” is pronounced /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/ (EE-koh-si-stuhm) in American English and /iːkəʊsɪstəm/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ec”.
The sound

Say “ecosystem” in 4 beats

Say it like this

ecosystem

/ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/

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

4 beats
  1. ecistress
  2. oskoʊ
  3. ys
  4. temstəm
IPA (American)
/ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/
IPA (British)
/iːkəʊsɪstəm/
Respelling
EE-koh-si-stuhm
Syllables
4 — EC-os-ys-tem
Stress
Stress the first syllable: EC-os-ys-tem. “ec” 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

/ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/

British

/iːkəʊsɪstəm/

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

Meaning

What “ecosystem” means

  1. noun

    a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment

Say it in a sentence

The whole ecosystem depends on one species of grass.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

ecosystem”, answered

How do you pronounce “ecosystem”?

“ecosystem” is pronounced /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/ (EE-koh-si-stuhm) in American English and /iːkəʊsɪstəm/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “ec”. Build it as EC-os-ys-tem, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ecosystem” have?

4: ec · os · ys · tem. The beat lands on the first, “ec”.

Is “ecosystem” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/ (EE-koh-si-stuhm); British English says /iːkəʊsɪstəm/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ecosystem” mean?

As a noun: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment For example: “The whole ecosystem depends on one species of grass.”

Where is the stress in “ecosystem”?

Stress the first syllable: EC-os-ys-tem. “ec” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “ecosystem” 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.