How to pronounce “karaoke”
Say “karaoke” in 4 beats
karaoke
/ˌkɛɹiˈoʊki/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌkaɹɪˈəʊki/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- kɛkɛ
- ɹiɹi
- oʊoʊstress
- kiki
- IPA (American)
- /ˌkɛɹiˈoʊki/
- IPA (British)
- /ˌkaɹɪˈəʊki/
- Respelling
- kair-ee-OH-kee
- Syllables
- 4 — kɛ-ɹi-OƱ-ki
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: kɛ-ɹi-OƱ-ki. “oʊ” 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
/ˌkɛɹiˈoʊki/
/ˌkaɹɪˈəʊki/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “karaoke” goes wrong
- Often heard
“carry-OH-kee”
four syllables with a clear -ee ending, not carry plus okay
What “karaoke” means
- noun
singing popular songs accompanied by a recording of an orchestra (usually in bars or nightclubs)
Say it in a sentence
“We sang karaoke badly and laughed for most of the night.”“karaoke”, answered
How do you pronounce “karaoke”?
“karaoke” is pronounced /ˌkɛɹiˈoʊki/ (kair-ee-OH-kee) in American English and /ˌkaɹɪˈəʊki/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “oʊ”. Build it as kɛ-ɹi-OƱ-ki, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “karaoke” have?
4: kɛ · ɹi · oʊ · ki. The beat lands on the third, “oʊ”.
Is “karaoke” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌkɛɹiˈoʊki/ (kair-ee-OH-kee); British English says /ˌkaɹɪˈəʊki/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “karaoke” mean?
As a noun: singing popular songs accompanied by a recording of an orchestra (usually in bars or nightclubs) For example: “We sang karaoke badly and laughed for most of the night.”
Where is the stress in “karaoke”?
Stress the third syllable: kɛ-ɹi-OƱ-ki. “oʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “karaoke” 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.