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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “undertake”

“undertake” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/ (UN-duh-tayk) in American English and /ʌndəteɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ʌn”.
The sound

Say “undertake” in 3 beats

Say it like this

undertake

/ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/

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

3 beats
  1. ʌnʌnstress
  2. dɚdɚ
  3. teɪkteɪk
IPA (American)
/ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/
IPA (British)
/ʌndəteɪk/
Respelling
UN-duh-tayk
Syllables
3 — ɅN-dɚ-teɪk
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ɅN-dɚ-teɪk. “ʌn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/

British

/ʌndəteɪk/

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

Meaning

What “undertake” means

  1. verb

    enter upon an activity or enterprise

  2. verb

    accept as a challenge

    “I'll tackle this difficult task”

  3. verb

    promise to do or accomplish

    “guarantee to free the prisoners”

Say it in a sentence

“She agreed to undertake the repairs herself this time.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ʌshort unnddɚschwatteɪlong akk

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

Questions

“undertake”, answered

How do you pronounce “undertake”?

“undertake” is pronounced /ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/ (UN-duh-tayk) in American English and /ʌndəteɪk/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ʌn”. Build it as ɅN-dɚ-teɪk, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “undertake” have?

3: ʌn · dɚ · teɪk. The beat lands on the first, “ʌn”.

Is “undertake” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈʌndɚˌteɪk/ (UN-duh-tayk); British English says /ʌndəteɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “undertake” mean?

As a verb: enter upon an activity or enterprise For example: “She agreed to undertake the repairs herself this time.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “undertake”?

Stress the first syllable: ɅN-dɚ-teɪk. “ʌn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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