How to pronounce “literature”
Say “literature” in 4 beats
literature
/ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /lɪtɹɪtʃə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- lɪlɪstress
- tɚtɚ
- əə
- tʃɚtʃɚ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/
- IPA (British)
- /lɪtɹɪtʃə/
- Respelling
- LI-tuh-uh-chuh
- Syllables
- 4 — LꞮ-tɚ-ə-tʃɚ
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: LꞮ-tɚ-ə-tʃɚ. “lɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/
/lɪtɹɪtʃə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “literature” means
- noun
creative writing of recognized artistic value
- noun
the humanistic study of a body of literature
“he took a course in Russian lit”
- noun
published writings in a particular style on a particular subject
“the technical literature”
Say it in a sentence
“He studied English literature before he moved into journalism.”“literature”, answered
How do you pronounce “literature”?
“literature” is pronounced /ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/ (LI-tuh-uh-chuh) in American English and /lɪtɹɪtʃə/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “lɪ”. Build it as LꞮ-tɚ-ə-tʃɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “literature” have?
4: lɪ · tɚ · ə · tʃɚ. The beat lands on the first, “lɪ”.
Is “literature” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈlɪtɚətʃɚ/ (LI-tuh-uh-chuh); British English says /lɪtɹɪtʃə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “literature” mean?
As a noun: creative writing of recognized artistic value For example: “He studied English literature before he moved into journalism.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “literature”?
Stress the first syllable: LꞮ-tɚ-ə-tʃɚ. “lɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “literature” 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.