How to pronounce “hierarchy”
Say “hierarchy” in 4 beats
hierarchy
/ˈhaɪəˌɹɑɹki/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈhaɪəɹɑːki/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- haɪhaɪstress
- əə
- ɹɑɹɹɑɹ
- kiki
- IPA (American)
- /ˈhaɪəˌɹɑɹki/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈhaɪəɹɑːki/
- Also accepted
- /ˈhaɪˌɹɑɹki/
- Respelling
- HY-uh-rar-kee
- Syllables
- 4 — HAꞮ-ə-ɹɑɹ-ki
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: HAꞮ-ə-ɹɑɹ-ki. “haɪ” 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
/ˈhaɪəˌɹɑɹki/
/ˈhaɪəɹɑːki/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “hierarchy” goes wrong
- Often heard
“hy-ER-ar-kee”
the stress is on the first syllable and the ch is a hard k
What “hierarchy” means
- noun
a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system
“put honesty first in her hierarchy of values”
- noun
the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
Say it in a sentence
“The company has a flat hierarchy with very few managers.”“hierarchy”, answered
How do you pronounce “hierarchy”?
“hierarchy” is pronounced /ˈhaɪəˌɹɑɹki/ (HY-uh-rar-kee) in American English and /ˈhaɪəɹɑːki/ in British English, and /ˈhaɪˌɹɑɹki/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “haɪ”. Build it as HAꞮ-ə-ɹɑɹ-ki, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “hierarchy” have?
4: haɪ · ə · ɹɑɹ · ki. The beat lands on the first, “haɪ”.
Is “hierarchy” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈhaɪəˌɹɑɹki/ (HY-uh-rar-kee); British English says /ˈhaɪəɹɑːki/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “hierarchy” mean?
As a noun: a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system For example: “put honesty first in her hierarchy of values” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “hierarchy”?
Stress the first syllable: HAꞮ-ə-ɹɑɹ-ki. “haɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “hierarchy” 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.