Pronunciation

How to pronounce “reached

“reached” is pronounced /ɹitʃt/ (REECHT) in American English and /ɹiːtʃt/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “reached” in one beat

Say it like this

reached

/ɹitʃt/

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

1 beat
  1. reachedɹitʃt
IPA (American)
/ɹitʃt/
IPA (British)
/ɹiːtʃt/
Respelling
REECHT
Syllables
1 — reached
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /ɹitʃt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɹitʃt/

British

/ɹiːtʃt/

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

Meaning

What “reached” means

  1. verb

    reach a destination, either real or abstract

    We hit Detroit by noon

  2. verb

    reach a point in time, or a certain state or level

    The thermometer hit 100 degrees

  3. verb

    move forward or upward in order to touch; also in a metaphorical sense

    Government reaches out to the people

Say it in a sentence

They finally reached the summit just before sunset.
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

reached”, answered

How do you pronounce “reached”?

“reached” is pronounced /ɹitʃt/ (REECHT) in American English and /ɹiːtʃt/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /ɹitʃt/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “reached” have?

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

Is “reached” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹitʃt/ (REECHT); British English says /ɹiːtʃt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “reached” mean?

As a verb: reach a destination, either real or abstract For example: “We hit Detroit by noon” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “reached”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “reached” 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.