Pronunciation

How to pronounce “extracurricular

“extracurricular” is pronounced /ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/ (ek-struh-kuh-I-kyuh-luh) in American English and /ɛkstɹəkəɹɪkjʊlə/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “ric”.
The sound

Say “extracurricular” in 6 beats

Say it like this

extracurricular

/ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/

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

6 beats
  1. extɛk
  2. racstɹə
  3. ur
  4. ricɪstress
  5. ulkjə
  6. ar
IPA (American)
/ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/
IPA (British)
/ɛkstɹəkəɹɪkjʊlə/
Respelling
ek-struh-kuh-I-kyuh-luh
Syllables
6 — ext-rac-ur-RIC-ul-ar
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: ext-rac-ur-RIC-ul-ar. “ric” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/

British

/ɛkstɹəkəɹɪkjʊlə/

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

Meaning

What “extracurricular” means

  1. adjective

    outside the regular academic curriculum

    sports and drama are popular extracurricular activities

  2. adjective

    outside the regular duties of your job or profession

  3. adjective

    characterized by adultery

    an adulterous relationship

Say it in a sentence

Her extracurricular work mattered as much as her grades.
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

extracurricular”, answered

How do you pronounce “extracurricular”?

“extracurricular” is pronounced /ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/ (ek-struh-kuh-I-kyuh-luh) in American English and /ɛkstɹəkəɹɪkjʊlə/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “ric”. Build it as ext-rac-ur-RIC-ul-ar, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “extracurricular” have?

6: ext · rac · ur · ric · ul · ar. The beat lands on the fourth, “ric”.

Is “extracurricular” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɛkstɹəkɚˈɪkjəlɚ/ (ek-struh-kuh-I-kyuh-luh); British English says /ɛkstɹəkəɹɪkjʊlə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “extracurricular” mean?

As an adjective: outside the regular academic curriculum For example: “sports and drama are popular extracurricular activities” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “extracurricular”?

Stress the fourth syllable: ext-rac-ur-RIC-ul-ar. “ric” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “extracurricular” 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.