Pronunciation

How to pronounce “inchoate

“inchoate” is pronounced /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht) in American English and /ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “hoat”.
The sound

Say “inchoate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

inchoate

/ɪnˈkoʊət/

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

3 beats
  1. incɪn
  2. hoatkoʊstress
  3. eət
IPA (American)
/ɪnˈkoʊət/
IPA (British)
/ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/
Respelling
in-KOH-uht
Syllables
3 — inc-HOAT-e
Stress
Stress the second syllable: inc-HOAT-e. “hoat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɪnˈkoʊət/

British

/ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/

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

Watch out

Where “inchoate” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    IN-choh-ayt

    the ch is a hard k and the stress is on the second syllable

Meaning

What “inchoate” means

  1. adjective

    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

    incipient civil disorder

Say it in a sentence

The plan was still inchoate when the funding was announced.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

inchoate”, answered

How do you pronounce “inchoate”?

“inchoate” is pronounced /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht) in American English and /ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “hoat”. Build it as inc-HOAT-e, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “inchoate” have?

3: inc · hoat · e. The beat lands on the second, “hoat”.

Is “inchoate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪnˈkoʊət/ (in-KOH-uht); British English says /ɪnˈkəʊeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “inchoate” mean?

As an adjective: only partly in existence; imperfectly formed For example: “incipient civil disorder”

Where is the stress in “inchoate”?

Stress the second syllable: inc-HOAT-e. “hoat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “inchoate” 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.