Pronunciation

How to pronounce “played

“played” is pronounced /pleɪd/ (PLAYD) — one syllable.
The sound

Say “played” in one beat

Say it like this

played

/pleɪd/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. playedpleɪd
IPA (American)
/pleɪd/
IPA (British)
/pleɪd/
Respelling
PLAYD
Syllables
1 — played
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /pleɪd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Meaning

What “played” means

  1. verb

    participate in games or sport

    We played hockey all afternoon

  2. verb

    act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome

    This factor played only a minor part in his decision

  3. verb

    play on an instrument

    The band played all night long

Say it in a sentence

The band played until well past midnight at the festival.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

played”, answered

How do you pronounce “played”?

“played” is pronounced /pleɪd/ (PLAYD) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /pleɪd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “played” have?

One, despite the 3 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /pleɪd/ — a single beat.

What does “played” mean?

As a verb: participate in games or sport For example: “We played hockey all afternoon” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “played”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /pleɪd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “played” 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.