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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “talking”

“talking” is pronounced /ˈtɔkɪŋ/ (TAW-king) in American English and /tɔːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tal”.
The sound

Say “talking” in 2 beats

Say it like this

talking

/ˈtɔkɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. taltɔstress
  2. kingkɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈtɔkɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/tɔːkɪŋ/
Respelling
TAW-king
Syllables
2 — TAL-king
Stress
Stress the first syllable: TAL-king. “tal” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈtɔkɪŋ/

British

/tɔːkɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “talking” means

  1. noun

    an exchange of ideas via conversation

    “let's have more work and less talk around here”

  2. verb

    exchange thoughts; talk with

    “We often talk business”

  3. verb

    express in speech

    “She talks a lot of nonsense”

Say it in a sentence

“They spent the whole afternoon talking about their travels.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ttɔawkkɪshort iŋng

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

Questions

“talking”, answered

How do you pronounce “talking”?

“talking” is pronounced /ˈtɔkɪŋ/ (TAW-king) in American English and /tɔːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tal”. Build it as TAL-king, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “talking” have?

2: tal · king. The beat lands on the first, “tal”.

Is “talking” said differently in British English?

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

What does “talking” mean?

As a noun: an exchange of ideas via conversation For example: “let's have more work and less talk around here” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “talking”?

Stress the first syllable: TAL-king. “tal” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “talking” and see every sound

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