How to pronounce “religious”
Say “religious” in 3 beats
religious
/ɹɪˈlɪdʒəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɹɪlɪdʒəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- relɹɪ
- iglɪstress
- iousdʒəs
- IPA (American)
- /ɹɪˈlɪdʒəs/
- IPA (British)
- /ɹɪlɪdʒəs/
- Also accepted
- /ɹiˈlɪdʒəs/
- Respelling
- ri-LI-juhs
- Syllables
- 3 — rel-IG-ious
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: rel-IG-ious. “ig” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ɹɪˈlɪdʒəs/
/ɹɪlɪdʒəs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “religious” means
- noun
a member of a religious order who is bound by vows of poverty and chastity and obedience
- adjective
concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church
“religious texts”
- adjective
having or showing belief in and reverence for a deity
“a religious man”
Say it in a sentence
“The town holds a religious festival every autumn.”“religious”, answered
How do you pronounce “religious”?
“religious” is pronounced /ɹɪˈlɪdʒəs/ (ri-LI-juhs) in American English and /ɹɪlɪdʒəs/ in British English, and /ɹiˈlɪdʒəs/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “ig”. Build it as rel-IG-ious, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “religious” have?
3: rel · ig · ious. The beat lands on the second, “ig”.
Is “religious” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈlɪdʒəs/ (ri-LI-juhs); British English says /ɹɪlɪdʒəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “religious” mean?
As a noun: a member of a religious order who is bound by vows of poverty and chastity and obedience For example: “The town holds a religious festival every autumn.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “religious”?
Stress the second syllable: rel-IG-ious. “ig” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “religious” 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.