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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “leading”

“leading” is pronounced /ˈlidɪŋ/ (LEE-ding) in American English and /liːdɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lead”.
The sound

Say “leading” in 2 beats

Say it like this

leading

/ˈlidɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. leadlistress
  2. ingdɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈlidɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/liːdɪŋ/
Respelling
LEE-ding
Syllables
2 — LEAD-ing
Stress
Stress the first syllable: LEAD-ing. “lead” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈlidɪŋ/

British

/liːdɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “leading” means

  1. noun

    thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing

  2. noun

    the activity of leading

    “his leadership inspired the team”

  3. verb

    take somebody somewhere

    “We lead him to our chief”

Say it in a sentence

“The path leading to the lake was covered in leaves.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
llilong eddɪshort iŋng

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

Questions

“leading”, answered

How do you pronounce “leading”?

“leading” is pronounced /ˈlidɪŋ/ (LEE-ding) in American English and /liːdɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “lead”. Build it as LEAD-ing, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “leading” have?

2: lead · ing. The beat lands on the first, “lead”.

Is “leading” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈlidɪŋ/ (LEE-ding); British English says /liːdɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “leading” mean?

As a noun: thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing For example: “The path leading to the lake was covered in leaves.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “leading”?

Stress the first syllable: LEAD-ing. “lead” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “leading” 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.

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