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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sustainable”

“sustainable” is pronounced /səˈsteɪnəbəl/ (suh-STAY-nuh-buhl) in American English and /səsteɪnəbəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tain”.
The sound

Say “sustainable” in 4 beats

Say it like this

sustainable

/səˈsteɪnəbəl/

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

4 beats
  1. sussə
  2. tainsteɪstress
  3. abnə
  4. lebəl
IPA (American)
/səˈsteɪnəbəl/
IPA (British)
/səsteɪnəbəl/
Respelling
suh-STAY-nuh-buhl
Syllables
4 — sus-TAIN-ab-le
Stress
Stress the second syllable: sus-TAIN-ab-le. “tain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/səˈsteɪnəbəl/

British

/səsteɪnəbəl/

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

Meaning

What “sustainable” means

  1. adjective

    capable of being sustained

Say it in a sentence

“The farm uses sustainable methods that protect the soil.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2əschwa×3tteɪlong annbbll

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

Questions

“sustainable”, answered

How do you pronounce “sustainable”?

“sustainable” is pronounced /səˈsteɪnəbəl/ (suh-STAY-nuh-buhl) in American English and /səsteɪnəbəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tain”. Build it as sus-TAIN-ab-le, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “sustainable” have?

4: sus · tain · ab · le. The beat lands on the second, “tain”.

Is “sustainable” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /səˈsteɪnəbəl/ (suh-STAY-nuh-buhl); British English says /səsteɪnəbəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sustainable” mean?

As an adjective: capable of being sustained For example: “The farm uses sustainable methods that protect the soil.”

Where is the stress in “sustainable”?

Stress the second syllable: sus-TAIN-ab-le. “tain” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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