Pronunciation

How to pronounce “employee

“employee” is pronounced /ɛmˈplɔɪi/ (em-PLOY-ee) in American English and /ɛmplɔɪiː/ in British English, and /ɪmˈplɔɪi/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “plɔɪ”.
The sound

Say “employee” in 3 beats

Say it like this

employee

/ɛmˈplɔɪi/

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

3 beats
  1. ɛmɛm
  2. plɔɪplɔɪstress
  3. ii
IPA (American)
/ɛmˈplɔɪi/
IPA (British)
/ɛmplɔɪiː/
Also accepted
/ɪmˈplɔɪi/
Respelling
em-PLOY-ee
Syllables
3 — ɛm-PLƆꞮ-i
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɛm-PLƆꞮ-i. “plɔɪ” 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

/ɛmˈplɔɪi/

British

/ɛmplɔɪiː/

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

Meaning

What “employee” means

  1. noun

    a worker who is hired to perform a job

Say it in a sentence

Every employee gets two days for training each year.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

employee”, answered

How do you pronounce “employee”?

“employee” is pronounced /ɛmˈplɔɪi/ (em-PLOY-ee) in American English and /ɛmplɔɪiː/ in British English, and /ɪmˈplɔɪi/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “plɔɪ”. Build it as ɛm-PLƆꞮ-i, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “employee” have?

3: ɛm · plɔɪ · i. The beat lands on the second, “plɔɪ”.

Is “employee” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɛmˈplɔɪi/ (em-PLOY-ee); British English says /ɛmplɔɪiː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “employee” mean?

As a noun: a worker who is hired to perform a job For example: “Every employee gets two days for training each year.”

Where is the stress in “employee”?

Stress the second syllable: ɛm-PLƆꞮ-i. “plɔɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “employee” 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.