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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “syllabus”

“syllabus” is pronounced /ˈsɪləbəs/ (SI-luh-buhs) in American English and /sɪlabəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “syl”.
The sound

Say “syllabus” in 3 beats

Say it like this

syllabus

/ˈsɪləbəs/

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

3 beats
  1. sylsɪstress
  2. lablə
  3. usbəs
IPA (American)
/ˈsɪləbəs/
IPA (British)
/sɪlabəs/
Respelling
SI-luh-buhs
Syllables
3 — SYL-lab-us
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SYL-lab-us. “syl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsɪləbəs/

British

/sɪlabəs/

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

Meaning

What “syllabus” means

  1. noun

    an integrated course of academic studies

    “he was admitted to a new program at the university”

Say it in a sentence

“The syllabus lists four novels and two plays.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2ɪshort illəschwa×2bb

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

Questions

“syllabus”, answered

How do you pronounce “syllabus”?

“syllabus” is pronounced /ˈsɪləbəs/ (SI-luh-buhs) in American English and /sɪlabəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “syl”. Build it as SYL-lab-us, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “syllabus” have?

3: syl · lab · us. The beat lands on the first, “syl”.

Is “syllabus” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɪləbəs/ (SI-luh-buhs); British English says /sɪlabəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “syllabus” mean?

As a noun: an integrated course of academic studies For example: “he was admitted to a new program at the university”

Where is the stress in “syllabus”?

Stress the first syllable: SYL-lab-us. “syl” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “syllabus” and see every sound

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