How to pronounce “mercurial”
Say “mercurial” in 4 beats
mercurial
/mɚˈkjʊɹiəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /mɜːkjʊəɹɪəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- mɚmɚ
- kjʊkjʊstress
- ɹiɹi
- ələl
- IPA (American)
- /mɚˈkjʊɹiəl/
- IPA (British)
- /mɜːkjʊəɹɪəl/
- Respelling
- muh-KYUU-ree-uhl
- Syllables
- 4 — mɚ-KJƱ-ɹi-əl
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: mɚ-KJƱ-ɹi-əl. “kjʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/mɚˈkjʊɹiəl/
/mɜːkjʊəɹɪəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “mercurial” means
- adjective
liable to sudden unpredictable change
“erratic behavior”
- adjective
relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury
“the Mercurial canals”
- adjective
relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury
“more than Mercurial thievishness”
Say it in a sentence
“Our mercurial goalkeeper is brilliant one week and hopeless the next.”“mercurial”, answered
How do you pronounce “mercurial”?
“mercurial” is pronounced /mɚˈkjʊɹiəl/ (muh-KYUU-ree-uhl) in American English and /mɜːkjʊəɹɪəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kjʊ”. Build it as mɚ-KJƱ-ɹi-əl, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “mercurial” have?
4: mɚ · kjʊ · ɹi · əl. The beat lands on the second, “kjʊ”.
Is “mercurial” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /mɚˈkjʊɹiəl/ (muh-KYUU-ree-uhl); British English says /mɜːkjʊəɹɪəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “mercurial” mean?
As an adjective: liable to sudden unpredictable change For example: “erratic behavior” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “mercurial”?
Stress the second syllable: mɚ-KJƱ-ɹi-əl. “kjʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “mercurial” 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.