How to pronounce “erratic”
Say “erratic” in 3 beats
erratic
/ɪˈɹætɪk/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɛɹatɪk/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- erɪ
- ratɹæstress
- ictɪk
- IPA (American)
- /ɪˈɹætɪk/
- IPA (British)
- /ɛɹatɪk/
- Respelling
- i-RA-tik
- Syllables
- 3 — er-RAT-ic
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: er-RAT-ic. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ɪˈɹætɪk/
/ɛɹatɪk/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “erratic” means
- adjective
liable to sudden unpredictable change
“erratic behavior”
- adjective
having no fixed course
“an erratic comet”
- adjective
likely to perform unpredictably; ; ; - Osbert Lancaster
“erratic winds are the bane of a sailor”
Say it in a sentence
“The old clock keeps erratic time and chimes at random.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“erratic”, answered
How do you pronounce “erratic”?
“erratic” is pronounced /ɪˈɹætɪk/ (i-RA-tik) in American English and /ɛɹatɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “rat”. Build it as er-RAT-ic, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “erratic” have?
3: er · rat · ic. The beat lands on the second, “rat”.
Is “erratic” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɪˈɹætɪk/ (i-RA-tik); British English says /ɛɹatɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “erratic” mean?
As an adjective: liable to sudden unpredictable change For example: “erratic behavior” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “erratic”?
Stress the second syllable: er-RAT-ic. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “erratic” 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.