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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “responsible”

“responsible” is pronounced /ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/ (ree-SPAHN-suh-buhl) in American English and /ɹɪspɒnsɪbəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pon”.
The sound

Say “responsible” in 4 beats

Say it like this

responsible

/ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/

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

4 beats
  1. resɹi
  2. ponspɑnstress
  3. sibsə
  4. lebəl
IPA (American)
/ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪspɒnsɪbəl/
Respelling
ree-SPAHN-suh-buhl
Syllables
4 — res-PON-sib-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: res-PON-sib-le. “pon” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/

British

/ɹɪspɒnsɪbəl/

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

Meaning

What “responsible” means

  1. adjective

    worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable

    “a responsible adult”

  2. adjective

    being the agent or cause

    “determined who was the responsible party”

  3. adjective

    having an acceptable credit rating

    “a responsible borrower”

Say it in a sentence

“She felt responsible for the mess left after the party.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them
ɹrilong ess×2ppɑahnnəschwa×2bbll

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“responsible”, answered

How do you pronounce “responsible”?

“responsible” is pronounced /ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/ (ree-SPAHN-suh-buhl) in American English and /ɹɪspɒnsɪbəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “pon”. Build it as res-PON-sib-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “responsible” have?

4: res · pon · sib · le. The beat lands on the second, “pon”.

Is “responsible” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹiˈspɑnsəbəl/ (ree-SPAHN-suh-buhl); British English says /ɹɪspɒnsɪbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “responsible” mean?

As an adjective: worthy of or requiring responsibility or trust; or held accountable For example: “a responsible adult” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “responsible”?

Stress the second syllable: res-PON-sib-le. “pon” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “responsible” and see every sound

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