Pronunciation

How to pronounce “length

“length” is pronounced /lɛŋkθ/ (LENGKTH) in American English and /lɛŋθ/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “length” in one beat

Say it like this

length

/lɛŋkθ/

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

1 beat
  1. lengthlɛŋkθ
IPA (American)
/lɛŋkθ/
IPA (British)
/lɛŋθ/
Also accepted
/lɛŋθ/
Respelling
LENGKTH
Syllables
1 — length
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /lɛŋkθ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/lɛŋkθ/

British

/lɛŋθ/

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

Watch out

Where “length” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    LENTH

    the ng and the th must both be heard

Meaning

What “length” means

  1. noun

    the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place

    the length of the table was 5 feet

  2. noun

    continuance in time

    the ceremony was of short duration

  3. noun

    the property of being the extent of something from beginning to end

    the editor limited the length of my article to 500 words

Say it in a sentence

The length of the hall is almost exactly twelve metres.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

length”, answered

How do you pronounce “length”?

“length” is pronounced /lɛŋkθ/ (LENGKTH) in American English and /lɛŋθ/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /lɛŋkθ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “length” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /lɛŋkθ/ — a single beat.

Is “length” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /lɛŋkθ/ (LENGKTH); British English says /lɛŋθ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “length” mean?

As a noun: the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place For example: “the length of the table was 5 feet” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “length”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /lɛŋkθ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “length” 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.