Pronunciation

How to pronounce “quesadilla

“quesadilla” is pronounced /ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/ (kay-suh-DEE-uh) in American English and /ˌkɛsəˈdiːə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɪə”.
The sound

Say “quesadilla” in 3 beats

Say it like this

quesadilla

/ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/

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

3 beats
  1. keɪkeɪ
  2. dɪədɪəstress
IPA (American)
/ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/
IPA (British)
/ˌkɛsəˈdiːə/
Respelling
kay-suh-DEE-uh
Syllables
3 — keɪ-sə-DꞮƏ
Stress
Stress the third syllable: keɪ-sə-DꞮƏ. “dɪə” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/

British

/ˌkɛsəˈdiːə/

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

Watch out

Where “quesadilla” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    kwes-uh-DIL-uh

    the qu is a plain k and the ll is a y sound: kay-suh-DEE-uh

Meaning

What “quesadilla” means

  1. noun

    a tortilla that is filled with cheese and heated

Say it in a sentence

He ordered a cheese quesadilla and ate it in four bites.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

quesadilla”, answered

How do you pronounce “quesadilla”?

“quesadilla” is pronounced /ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/ (kay-suh-DEE-uh) in American English and /ˌkɛsəˈdiːə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “dɪə”. Build it as keɪ-sə-DꞮƏ, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “quesadilla” have?

3: keɪ · sə · dɪə. The beat lands on the third, “dɪə”. Read letter by letter it looks like 4 (kwes-uh-DIL-uh), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 3.

Is “quesadilla” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌkeɪsəˈdiə/ (kay-suh-DEE-uh); British English says /ˌkɛsəˈdiːə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “quesadilla” mean?

As a noun: a tortilla that is filled with cheese and heated For example: “He ordered a cheese quesadilla and ate it in four bites.”

Where is the stress in “quesadilla”?

Stress the third syllable: keɪ-sə-DꞮƏ. “dɪə” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “quesadilla” and see every sound

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