Pronunciation

How to pronounce “making

“making” is pronounced /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/ (MAY-king) in American English and /meɪkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “mak”.
The sound

Say “making” in 2 beats

Say it like this

making

/ˈmeɪkɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. makmeɪstress
  2. ingkɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈmeɪkɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/meɪkɪŋ/
Respelling
MAY-king
Syllables
2 — MAK-ing
Stress
Stress the first syllable: MAK-ing. “mak” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈmeɪkɪŋ/

British

/meɪkɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “making” means

  1. noun

    the act that results in something coming to be

    the devising of plans

  2. noun

    an attribute that must be met or complied with and that fits a person for something

    her qualifications for the job are excellent

  3. noun

    (usually plural) the components needed for making or doing something

    the recipe listed all the makings for a chocolate cake

Say it in a sentence

She spent the whole evening making a birthday cake.
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

making”, answered

How do you pronounce “making”?

“making” is pronounced /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/ (MAY-king) in American English and /meɪkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “mak”. Build it as MAK-ing, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “making” have?

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

Is “making” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈmeɪkɪŋ/ (MAY-king); British English says /meɪkɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “making” mean?

As a noun: the act that results in something coming to be For example: “the devising of plans” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “making”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “making” 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.