How to pronounce “hierarchical”
Say “hierarchical” in 5 beats
hierarchical
/ˌhaɪəˈɹɑɹkɪkəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑːkɪkəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- haɪhaɪ
- əəstress
- ɹɑɹɹɑɹ
- kɪkɪ
- kəlkəl
- IPA (American)
- /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑɹkɪkəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑːkɪkəl/
- Respelling
- hy-uh-RAR-kik-uhl
- Syllables
- 5 — haɪ-Ə-ɹɑɹ-kɪ-kəl
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: haɪ-Ə-ɹɑɹ-kɪ-kəl. “ə” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˌhaɪəˈɹɑɹkɪkəl/
/ˌhaɪəˈɹɑːkɪkəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “hierarchical” goes wrong
- Often heard
“hy-RAR-chical with a ch”
the ch is a hard k throughout, as in hierarchy
What “hierarchical” means
- adjective
classified according to various criteria into successive levels or layers
“it has been said that only a hierarchical society with a leisure class at the top can produce works of art”
Say it in a sentence
“The old firm was strictly hierarchical and very slow.”“hierarchical”, answered
How do you pronounce “hierarchical”?
“hierarchical” is pronounced /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑɹkɪkəl/ (hy-uh-RAR-kik-uhl) in American English and /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑːkɪkəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “ə”. Build it as haɪ-Ə-ɹɑɹ-kɪ-kəl, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “hierarchical” have?
5: haɪ · ə · ɹɑɹ · kɪ · kəl. The beat lands on the second, “ə”.
Is “hierarchical” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑɹkɪkəl/ (hy-uh-RAR-kik-uhl); British English says /ˌhaɪəˈɹɑːkɪkəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “hierarchical” mean?
As an adjective: classified according to various criteria into successive levels or layers For example: “it has been said that only a hierarchical society with a leisure class at the top can produce works of art”
Where is the stress in “hierarchical”?
Stress the second syllable: haɪ-Ə-ɹɑɹ-kɪ-kəl. “ə” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “hierarchical” 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.