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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “mistake”

“mistake” is pronounced /mɪˈsteɪk/ (mi-STAYK) in American English and /mɪsteɪk/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “steɪk”.
The sound

Say “mistake” in 2 beats

Say it like this

mistake

/mɪˈsteɪk/

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

2 beats
  1. mɪmɪ
  2. steɪksteɪkstress
IPA (American)
/mɪˈsteɪk/
IPA (British)
/mɪsteɪk/
Respelling
mi-STAYK
Syllables
2 — mɪ-STEꞮK
Stress
Stress the second syllable: mɪ-STEꞮK. “steɪk” 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

/mɪˈsteɪk/

British

/mɪsteɪk/

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

Meaning

What “mistake” means

  1. noun

    a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

    “he made a bad mistake”

  2. noun

    an understanding of something that is not correct

    “he wasn't going to admit his mistake”

  3. noun

    part of a statement that is not correct

    “the book was full of errors”

Say it in a sentence

“Admitting the mistake early saved everyone a lot of trouble.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
mmɪshort isstteɪlong akk

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“mistake”, answered

How do you pronounce “mistake”?

“mistake” is pronounced /mɪˈsteɪk/ (mi-STAYK) in American English and /mɪsteɪk/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “steɪk”. Build it as mɪ-STEꞮK, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “mistake” have?

2: mɪ · steɪk. The beat lands on the second, “steɪk”.

Is “mistake” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /mɪˈsteɪk/ (mi-STAYK); British English says /mɪsteɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “mistake” mean?

As a noun: a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention For example: “he made a bad mistake” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “mistake”?

Stress the second syllable: mɪ-STEꞮK. “steɪk” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “mistake” and see every sound

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