Pronunciation

How to pronounce “irreparable

“irreparable” is pronounced /ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/ (ih-REP-ur-uh-buhl) in American English and /ɪˈɹɛpəɹəbəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rep”.
The sound

Say “irreparable” in 5 beats

Say it like this

irreparable

/ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/

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

5 beats
  1. irɪ
  2. repɹɛstress
  3. ar
  4. abə
  5. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/
IPA (British)
/ɪˈɹɛpəɹəbəl/
Respelling
ih-REP-ur-uh-buhl
Syllables
5 — ir-REP-ar-ab-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ir-REP-ar-ab-le. “rep” 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

/ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/

British

/ɪˈɹɛpəɹəbəl/

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

Watch out

Where “irreparable” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    ir-ree-PAIR-uh-bul

    the stress is on REP and the -pair- reduces

Meaning

What “irreparable” means

  1. adjective

    impossible to repair, rectify, or amend

    irreparable harm

Say it in a sentence

The flood did irreparable damage to the ground floor.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

irreparable”, answered

How do you pronounce “irreparable”?

“irreparable” is pronounced /ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/ (ih-REP-ur-uh-buhl) in American English and /ɪˈɹɛpəɹəbəl/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “rep”. Build it as ir-REP-ar-ab-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “irreparable” have?

5: ir · rep · ar · ab · le. The beat lands on the second, “rep”.

Is “irreparable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪˈɹɛpɚəbəl/ (ih-REP-ur-uh-buhl); British English says /ɪˈɹɛpəɹəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “irreparable” mean?

As an adjective: impossible to repair, rectify, or amend For example: “irreparable harm”

Where is the stress in “irreparable”?

Stress the second syllable: ir-REP-ar-ab-le. “rep” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “irreparable” 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.