Pronunciation

How to pronounce “got

“got” is pronounced /ɡɑt/ (GAHT) in American English and /ɡɒt/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “got” in one beat

Say it like this

got

/ɡɑt/

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

1 beat
  1. gotɡɑt
IPA (American)
/ɡɑt/
IPA (British)
/ɡɒt/
Respelling
GAHT
Syllables
1 — got
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ɡɑt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɡɑt/

British

/ɡɒt/

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

Meaning

What “got” means

  1. verb

    come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

    She got a lot of paintings from her uncle

  2. verb

    enter or assume a certain state or condition

    He became annoyed when he heard the bad news

  3. verb

    cause to move; cause to be in a certain position or condition

    He got his squad on the ball

Say it in a sentence

She got home just before the storm started.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

got”, answered

How do you pronounce “got”?

“got” is pronounced /ɡɑt/ (GAHT) in American English and /ɡɒt/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ɡɑt/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “got” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /ɡɑt/ — a single beat.

Is “got” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɡɑt/ (GAHT); British English says /ɡɒt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “got” mean?

As a verb: come into the possession of something concrete or abstract For example: “She got a lot of paintings from her uncle” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “got”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ɡɑt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “got” 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.