How to pronounce “exceptional”
Say “exceptional” in 4 beats
exceptional
/ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɛksɛpʃənəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- exɪk
- cepsɛpstress
- tionʃə
- alnəl
- IPA (American)
- /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ɛksɛpʃənəl/
- Respelling
- ik-SEP-shuh-nuhl
- Syllables
- 4 — ex-CEP-tion-al
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ex-CEP-tion-al. “cep” 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
/ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/
/ɛksɛpʃənəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “exceptional” means
- adjective
far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
“a night of exceeding darkness”
- adjective
surpassing what is common or usual or expected
“he paid especial attention to her”
- adjective
deviating widely from a norm of physical or mental ability; used especially of children below normal in intelligence
“special educational provisions for exceptional children”
Say it in a sentence
“The weather that August was exceptional, even for this coast.”“exceptional”, answered
How do you pronounce “exceptional”?
“exceptional” is pronounced /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/ (ik-SEP-shuh-nuhl) in American English and /ɛksɛpʃənəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “cep”. Build it as ex-CEP-tion-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “exceptional” have?
4: ex · cep · tion · al. The beat lands on the second, “cep”.
Is “exceptional” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɪkˈsɛpʃənəl/ (ik-SEP-shuh-nuhl); British English says /ɛksɛpʃənəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “exceptional” mean?
As an adjective: far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree For example: “a night of exceeding darkness” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “exceptional”?
Stress the second syllable: ex-CEP-tion-al. “cep” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “exceptional” 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.