How to pronounce “handkerchief”
Say “handkerchief” in 3 beats
handkerchief
/ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- handhæŋstress
- kerckɚ
- hieftʃɪf
- IPA (American)
- /ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/
- Also accepted
- /ˈhæŋkɚtʃif/
- Respelling
- HANG-kur-chif
- Syllables
- 3 — HAND-kerc-hief
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: HAND-kerc-hief. “hand” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/
/ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “handkerchief” goes wrong
- Often heard
“HAND-ker-cheef”
the d is silent and the ending is a short -chif, not -cheef
What “handkerchief” means
- noun
a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory
Say it in a sentence
“He kept a clean handkerchief in his jacket pocket.”“handkerchief”, answered
How do you pronounce “handkerchief”?
“handkerchief” is pronounced /ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/ (HANG-kur-chif) in American English and /ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/ in British English, and /ˈhæŋkɚtʃif/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “hand”. Build it as HAND-kerc-hief, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “handkerchief” have?
3: hand · kerc · hief. The beat lands on the first, “hand”.
Is “handkerchief” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈhæŋkɚtʃɪf/ (HANG-kur-chif); British English says /ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “handkerchief” mean?
As a noun: a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory For example: “He kept a clean handkerchief in his jacket pocket.”
Where is the stress in “handkerchief”?
Stress the first syllable: HAND-kerc-hief. “hand” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “handkerchief” 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.