How to pronounce “material”
Say “material” in 4 beats
material
/məˈtɪɹiəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /mətiəɹiəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- məmə
- tɪtɪstress
- ɹiɹi
- ələl
- IPA (American)
- /məˈtɪɹiəl/
- IPA (British)
- /mətiəɹiəl/
- Respelling
- muh-TI-ree-uhl
- Syllables
- 4 — mə-TꞮ-ɹi-əl
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: mə-TꞮ-ɹi-əl. “tɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/məˈtɪɹiəl/
/mətiəɹiəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “material” means
- noun
the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object
“coal is a hard black material”
- noun
information (data or ideas or observations) that can be used or reworked into a finished form
“the archives provided rich material for a definitive biography”
- noun
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
“the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent”
Say it in a sentence
“The tailor chose a soft material for the winter coat.”“material”, answered
How do you pronounce “material”?
“material” is pronounced /məˈtɪɹiəl/ (muh-TI-ree-uhl) in American English and /mətiəɹiəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tɪ”. Build it as mə-TꞮ-ɹi-əl, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “material” have?
4: mə · tɪ · ɹi · əl. The beat lands on the second, “tɪ”.
Is “material” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /məˈtɪɹiəl/ (muh-TI-ree-uhl); British English says /mətiəɹiəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “material” mean?
As a noun: the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object For example: “coal is a hard black material” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “material”?
Stress the second syllable: mə-TꞮ-ɹi-əl. “tɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “material” 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.