Pronunciation

How to pronounce “speaking

“speaking” is pronounced /ˈspikɪŋ/ (SPEE-king) in American English and /spiːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “speak”.
The sound

Say “speaking” in 2 beats

Say it like this

speaking

/ˈspikɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. speakspistress
  2. ingkɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈspikɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/spiːkɪŋ/
Respelling
SPEE-king
Syllables
2 — SPEAK-ing
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SPEAK-ing. “speak” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈspikɪŋ/

British

/spiːkɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “speaking” means

  1. noun

    the utterance of intelligible speech

  2. noun

    delivering an address to a public audience

    people came to see the candidates and hear the speechmaking

  3. verb

    express in speech

    She talks a lot of nonsense

Say it in a sentence

She felt nervous speaking in front of such a large crowd.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

speaking”, answered

How do you pronounce “speaking”?

“speaking” is pronounced /ˈspikɪŋ/ (SPEE-king) in American English and /spiːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “speak”. Build it as SPEAK-ing, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “speaking” have?

2: speak · ing. The beat lands on the first, “speak”.

Is “speaking” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈspikɪŋ/ (SPEE-king); British English says /spiːkɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “speaking” mean?

As a noun: the utterance of intelligible speech For example: “She felt nervous speaking in front of such a large crowd.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “speaking”?

Stress the first syllable: SPEAK-ing. “speak” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “speaking” 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.