How to pronounce “recall”
“recall” is said two ways
/ɹɪˈkɔl/
rih-KAWL
To remember, or to call something back. Beat on KAWL.
/ˈɹiˌkɔl/
REE-kawl
The safety notice, or the vote. Beat on REE.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “I recall the letter arriving the week of the recall.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “recall” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the verb and the noun. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “recall” in 2 beats
recall
/ɹɪˈkɔl/
Everything in this card describes the verb form. As a noun it is /ˈɹiˌkɔl/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪˈkɔːl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- recɹɪ
- allkɔlstress
- IPA (American)
- /ɹɪˈkɔl/
- IPA (British)
- /ɹɪˈkɔːl/
- Respelling
- rih-KAWL (verb) · REE-kawl (noun)
- Syllables
- 2 — rec-ALL
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: rec-ALL. “all” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the verb form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ɹɪˈkɔl/
/ɹɪˈkɔːl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “recall” goes wrong
- Often heard
“a product rih-KAWL”
the notice is usually REE-kawl; rih-KAWL is remembering
What “recall” means
- noun
a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair)
- noun
a call to return
“the recall of our ambassador”
- noun
a bugle call that signals troops to return
Say it in a sentence
“I recall the letter arriving the week of the recall.”“recall”, answered
How do you pronounce “recall”?
“recall” has two pronunciations: /ɹɪˈkɔl/ as a verb and /ˈɹiˌkɔl/ as a noun — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the verb form. Build it as rec-ALL, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “recall” have?
2: rec · all. The beat lands on the second, “all”.
Which pronunciation of “recall” is correct?
Both are. /ɹɪˈkɔl/ (rih-KAWL) as a verb; /ˈɹiˌkɔl/ (REE-kawl) as a noun. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “I recall the letter arriving the week of the recall.”
Is “recall” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈkɔl/ (rih-KAWL); British English says /ɹɪˈkɔːl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “recall” mean?
As a noun: a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair) For example: “I recall the letter arriving the week of the recall.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “recall”?
Stress the second syllable: rec-ALL. “all” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “recall” 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.