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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “vocational”

“vocational” is pronounced /voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/ (voh-KAY-shuh-nuhl) in American English and /vəʊkeɪʃənəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “vocational” in 4 beats

Say it like this

vocational

/voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/

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

4 beats
  1. vocvoʊ
  2. atkeɪstress
  3. ionʃə
  4. alnəl
IPA (American)
/voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/
IPA (British)
/vəʊkeɪʃənəl/
Respelling
voh-KAY-shuh-nuhl
Syllables
4 — voc-AT-ion-al
Stress
Stress the second syllable: voc-AT-ion-al. “at” 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

/voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/

British

/vəʊkeɪʃənəl/

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

Meaning

What “vocational” means

  1. adjective

    of or relating to a vocation or occupation; especially providing or undergoing training in special skills

    “vocational school”

Say it in a sentence

“The college offers vocational courses in plumbing and carpentry.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
vvoʊlong okkeɪlong aʃshəschwa×2nnll

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

Questions

“vocational”, answered

How do you pronounce “vocational”?

“vocational” is pronounced /voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/ (voh-KAY-shuh-nuhl) in American English and /vəʊkeɪʃənəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as voc-AT-ion-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “vocational” have?

4: voc · at · ion · al. The beat lands on the second, “at”.

Is “vocational” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /voʊˈkeɪʃənəl/ (voh-KAY-shuh-nuhl); British English says /vəʊkeɪʃənəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “vocational” mean?

As an adjective: of or relating to a vocation or occupation; especially providing or undergoing training in special skills For example: “vocational school”

Where is the stress in “vocational”?

Stress the second syllable: voc-AT-ion-al. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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