sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “lamentable”

“lamentable” is pronounced /ləˈmɛntəbəl/ (luh-MEN-tuh-buhl (UK LAM-uhn-tuh-buhl)) in American English and /ˈlaməntəbəl/ in British English, and /ˈlæməntəbəl/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “en”.
The sound

Say “lamentable” in 4 beats

Say it like this

lamentable

/ləˈmɛntəbəl/

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

4 beats
  1. lamlə
  2. enmɛnstress
  3. tabtə
  4. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ləˈmɛntəbəl/
IPA (British)
/ˈlaməntəbəl/
Also accepted
/ˈlæməntəbəl/
Respelling
luh-MEN-tuh-buhl (UK LAM-uhn-tuh-buhl)
Syllables
4 — lam-EN-tab-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: lam-EN-tab-le. “en” 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

/ləˈmɛntəbəl/

British

/ˈlaməntəbəl/

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

Also accepted

/ˈlæməntəbəl/
Watch out

Where “lamentable” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “LAM-uhn-tuh-buhl”/ˈlæməntəbəl/

    standard in British English; American dictionaries give luh-MEN-tuh-buhl first

Meaning

What “lamentable” means

  1. adjective

    bad; unfortunate

    “my finances were in a deplorable state”

Say it in a sentence

“The state of the old library is frankly lamentable.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ll×2əschwa×3mmɛshort ennttbb

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

Questions

“lamentable”, answered

How do you pronounce “lamentable”?

“lamentable” is pronounced /ləˈmɛntəbəl/ (luh-MEN-tuh-buhl (UK LAM-uhn-tuh-buhl)) in American English and /ˈlaməntəbəl/ in British English, and /ˈlæməntəbəl/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “en”. Build it as lam-EN-tab-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “lamentable” have?

4: lam · en · tab · le. The beat lands on the second, “en”.

Is “lamentable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ləˈmɛntəbəl/ (luh-MEN-tuh-buhl (UK LAM-uhn-tuh-buhl)); British English says /ˈlaməntəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “lamentable” mean?

As an adjective: bad; unfortunate For example: “my finances were in a deplorable state”

Where is the stress in “lamentable”?

Stress the second syllable: lam-EN-tab-le. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “lamentable” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with L