How to pronounce “legitimate”
Say “legitimate” in 4 beats
legitimate
/ləˈdʒɪtəmət/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /lədʒɪtɪmət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- lələ
- dʒɪdʒɪstress
- tətə
- mətmət
- IPA (American)
- /ləˈdʒɪtəmət/
- IPA (British)
- /lədʒɪtɪmət/
- Respelling
- luh-JI-tuh-muht
- Syllables
- 4 — lə-DƷꞮ-tə-mət
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: lə-DƷꞮ-tə-mət. “dʒɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ləˈdʒɪtəmət/
/lədʒɪtɪmət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “legitimate” means
- verb
make legal
“Marijuana should be legalized”
- verb
show or affirm to be just and legitimate
- verb
make (an illegitimate child) legitimate; declare the legitimacy of (someone)
“They legitimized their natural child”
Say it in a sentence
“She had a legitimate reason for missing the meeting.”“legitimate”, answered
How do you pronounce “legitimate”?
“legitimate” is pronounced /ləˈdʒɪtəmət/ (luh-JI-tuh-muht) in American English and /lədʒɪtɪmət/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “dʒɪ”. Build it as lə-DƷꞮ-tə-mət, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “legitimate” have?
4: lə · dʒɪ · tə · mət. The beat lands on the second, “dʒɪ”.
Is “legitimate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ləˈdʒɪtəmət/ (luh-JI-tuh-muht); British English says /lədʒɪtɪmət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “legitimate” mean?
As a verb: make legal For example: “Marijuana should be legalized” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “legitimate”?
Stress the second syllable: lə-DƷꞮ-tə-mət. “dʒɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “legitimate” 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.