How to pronounce “small”
Say “small” in one beat
small
/smɔl/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /smɔːl/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- smallsmɔl
- IPA (American)
- /smɔl/
- IPA (British)
- /smɔːl/
- Respelling
- SMAWL
- Syllables
- 1 — small
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /smɔl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective, adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/smɔl/
/smɔːl/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “small” means
- noun
the slender part of the back
- noun
a garment size for a small person
- adjective
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
“a little dining room”
Say it in a sentence
“They live in a small cottage near the coast.”“small”, answered
How do you pronounce “small”?
“small” is pronounced /smɔl/ (SMAWL) in American English and /smɔːl/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /smɔl/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “small” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /smɔl/ — a single beat.
Is “small” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /smɔl/ (SMAWL); British English says /smɔːl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “small” mean?
As a noun: the slender part of the back For example: “They live in a small cottage near the coast.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “small”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /smɔl/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “small” 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.