How to pronounce “female”
Say “female” in 2 beats
female
/ˈfiˌmeɪl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /fiːmeɪl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- fifistress
- meɪlmeɪl
- IPA (American)
- /ˈfiˌmeɪl/
- IPA (British)
- /fiːmeɪl/
- Respelling
- FEE-mayl
- Syllables
- 2 — FI-meɪl
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: FI-meɪl. “fi” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈfiˌmeɪl/
/fiːmeɪl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “female” means
- noun
an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa)
- noun
a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies
- adjective
being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring develop
“a female heir”
Say it in a sentence
“The zoo welcomed a new female panda last spring.”“female”, answered
How do you pronounce “female”?
“female” is pronounced /ˈfiˌmeɪl/ (FEE-mayl) in American English and /fiːmeɪl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fi”. Build it as FI-meɪl, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “female” have?
2: fi · meɪl. The beat lands on the first, “fi”.
Is “female” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈfiˌmeɪl/ (FEE-mayl); British English says /fiːmeɪl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “female” mean?
As a noun: an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa) For example: “The zoo welcomed a new female panda last spring.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “female”?
Stress the first syllable: FI-meɪl. “fi” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “female” 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.