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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “taking”

“taking” is pronounced /ˈteɪkɪŋ/ (TAY-king) in American English and /teɪkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tak”.
The sound

Say “taking” in 2 beats

Say it like this

taking

/ˈteɪkɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. takteɪstress
  2. ingkɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈteɪkɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/teɪkɪŋ/
Respelling
TAY-king
Syllables
2 — TAK-ing
Stress
Stress the first syllable: TAK-ing. “tak” 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

/ˈteɪkɪŋ/

British

/teɪkɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “taking” means

  1. noun

    the act of someone who picks up or takes something

    “the pickings were easy”

  2. verb

    carry out

    “take action”

  3. verb

    require (time or space)

    “It took three hours to get to work this morning”

Say it in a sentence

“He is taking a short course on woodworking this spring.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
tteɪlong akkɪshort iŋng

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

Questions

“taking”, answered

How do you pronounce “taking”?

“taking” is pronounced /ˈteɪkɪŋ/ (TAY-king) in American English and /teɪkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tak”. Build it as TAK-ing, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “taking” have?

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

Is “taking” said differently in British English?

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

What does “taking” mean?

As a noun: the act of someone who picks up or takes something For example: “the pickings were easy” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “taking”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “taking” and see every sound

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