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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “final”

“final” is pronounced /ˈfaɪnəl/ (FY-nuhl) in American English and /faɪnəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fin”.
The sound

Say “final” in 2 beats

Say it like this

final

/ˈfaɪnəl/

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

2 beats
  1. finfaɪstress
  2. alnəl
IPA (American)
/ˈfaɪnəl/
IPA (British)
/faɪnəl/
Respelling
FY-nuhl
Syllables
2 — FIN-al
Stress
Stress the first syllable: FIN-al. “fin” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈfaɪnəl/

British

/faɪnəl/

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

Meaning

What “final” means

  1. noun

    the final match between the winners of all previous matches in an elimination tournament

  2. noun

    an examination administered at the end of an academic term

  3. adjective

    occurring at or forming an end or termination

    “his concluding words came as a surprise”

Say it in a sentence

“They lost the final on a rainy Saturday in May.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ffaɪlong innəschwall

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“final”, answered

How do you pronounce “final”?

“final” is pronounced /ˈfaɪnəl/ (FY-nuhl) in American English and /faɪnəl/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fin”. Build it as FIN-al, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “final” have?

2: fin · al. The beat lands on the first, “fin”.

Is “final” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈfaɪnəl/ (FY-nuhl); British English says /faɪnəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “final” mean?

As a noun: the final match between the winners of all previous matches in an elimination tournament For example: “They lost the final on a rainy Saturday in May.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “final”?

Stress the first syllable: FIN-al. “fin” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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