Pronunciation

How to pronounce “litigation

“litigation” is pronounced /ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/ (li-tuh-GAY-shuhn) in American English and /lɪtɪɡeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “litigation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

litigation

/ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. lit
  2. ig
  3. atɡeɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/lɪtɪɡeɪʃən/
Respelling
li-tuh-GAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — lit-ig-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: lit-ig-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/

British

/lɪtɪɡeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “litigation” means

  1. noun

    a legal proceeding in a court; a judicial contest to determine and enforce legal rights

Say it in a sentence

Litigation would have cost more than simply settling.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

litigation”, answered

How do you pronounce “litigation”?

“litigation” is pronounced /ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/ (li-tuh-GAY-shuhn) in American English and /lɪtɪɡeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as lit-ig-AT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “litigation” have?

4: lit · ig · at · ion. The beat lands on the third, “at”.

Is “litigation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌlɪtəˈɡeɪʃən/ (li-tuh-GAY-shuhn); British English says /lɪtɪɡeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “litigation” mean?

As a noun: a legal proceeding in a court; a judicial contest to determine and enforce legal rights For example: “Litigation would have cost more than simply settling.”

Where is the stress in “litigation”?

Stress the third syllable: lit-ig-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “litigation” and see every sound

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