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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “interesting”

“interesting” is pronounced /ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/ (IN-truh-sting), and /ˈɪntɹɪstɪŋ/ and /ˈɪntɚəstɪŋ/ and /ˈɪntɚɪstɪŋ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”.
The sound

Say “interesting” in 3 beats

Say it like this

interesting

/ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. ɪnɪnstress
  2. tɹətɹə
  3. stɪŋstɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/
Also accepted
/ˈɪntɹɪstɪŋ/
Also accepted
/ˈɪntɚəstɪŋ/
Also accepted
/ˈɪntɚɪstɪŋ/
Respelling
IN-truh-sting
Syllables
3 — ꞮN-tɹə-stɪŋ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ꞮN-tɹə-stɪŋ. “ɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Watch out

Where “interesting” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “in-ter-EST-ing”

    the stress is first and the word usually has three syllables

Meaning

What “interesting” means

  1. verb

    excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of

  2. verb

    be on the mind of

    “I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift”

  3. verb

    be of importance or consequence

    “This matters to me!”

Say it in a sentence

“She told an interesting story about her first job in Delhi.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ɪshort i×2nntt×2ɹrəschwassŋng

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“interesting”, answered

How do you pronounce “interesting”?

“interesting” is pronounced /ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/ (IN-truh-sting), and /ˈɪntɹɪstɪŋ/ and /ˈɪntɚəstɪŋ/ and /ˈɪntɚɪstɪŋ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɪn”. Build it as ꞮN-tɹə-stɪŋ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “interesting” have?

3: ɪn · tɹə · stɪŋ. The beat lands on the first, “ɪn”. Read letter by letter it looks like 4 (in-ter-EST-ing), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 3.

Is “interesting” /ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/ or /ˈɪntɹɪstɪŋ/?

Both. /ˈɪntɹəstɪŋ/ is the form dictionaries list first (IN-truh-sting).

What does “interesting” mean?

As a verb: excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of For example: “She told an interesting story about her first job in Delhi.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “interesting”?

Stress the first syllable: ꞮN-tɹə-stɪŋ. “ɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “interesting” and see every sound

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