Pronunciation

How to pronounce “freelance

“freelance” is pronounced /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ (FREE-lans) in American English and /fɹiːlans/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fɹi”.
The sound

Say “freelance” in 2 beats

Say it like this

freelance

/ˈfɹiˌlæns/

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

2 beats
  1. fɹifɹistress
  2. lænslæns
IPA (American)
/ˈfɹiˌlæns/
IPA (British)
/fɹiːlans/
Respelling
FREE-lans
Syllables
2 — FɹI-læns
Stress
Stress the first syllable: FɹI-læns. “fɹi” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈfɹiˌlæns/

British

/fɹiːlans/

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

Meaning

What “freelance” means

  1. noun

    a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them

  2. verb

    work independently and on temporary contracts rather than for a long-term employer

  3. adjective

    working for yourself

Say it in a sentence

He went freelance after a decade at the same newspaper.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

freelance”, answered

How do you pronounce “freelance”?

“freelance” is pronounced /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ (FREE-lans) in American English and /fɹiːlans/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “fɹi”. Build it as FɹI-læns, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “freelance” have?

2: fɹi · læns. The beat lands on the first, “fɹi”.

Is “freelance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈfɹiˌlæns/ (FREE-lans); British English says /fɹiːlans/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “freelance” mean?

As a noun: a writer or artist who sells services to different employers without a long-term contract with any of them For example: “He went freelance after a decade at the same newspaper.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “freelance”?

Stress the first syllable: FɹI-læns. “fɹi” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “freelance” 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.