How to pronounce “referral”
Say “referral” in 3 beats
referral
/ɹɪˈfɝəl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪfɜːɹəl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- refɹɪ
- erfɝstress
- raləl
- IPA (American)
- /ɹɪˈfɝəl/
- IPA (British)
- /ɹɪfɜːɹəl/
- Respelling
- ri-FUR-uhl
- Syllables
- 3 — ref-ER-ral
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: ref-ER-ral. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ɹɪˈfɝəl/
/ɹɪfɜːɹəl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “referral” means
- noun
a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group
“the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones”
- noun
a recommendation to consult the (professional) person or group to whom one has been referred
“the insurance company says that you need a written referral from your physician before seeing a specialist”
- noun
the act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency)
Say it in a sentence
“Most of our work still comes from referral rather than advertising.”“referral”, answered
How do you pronounce “referral”?
“referral” is pronounced /ɹɪˈfɝəl/ (ri-FUR-uhl) in American English and /ɹɪfɜːɹəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “er”. Build it as ref-ER-ral, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “referral” have?
3: ref · er · ral. The beat lands on the second, “er”.
Is “referral” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈfɝəl/ (ri-FUR-uhl); British English says /ɹɪfɜːɹəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “referral” mean?
As a noun: a person whose case has been referred to a specialist or professional group For example: “the patient is a referral from Dr. Bones” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “referral”?
Stress the second syllable: ref-ER-ral. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “referral” 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.