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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “working”

“working” is pronounced /ˈwɝkɪŋ/ (WUR-king) in American English and /wɜːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “wor”.
The sound

Say “working” in 2 beats

Say it like this

working

/ˈwɝkɪŋ/

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

2 beats
  1. worwɝstress
  2. kingkɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈwɝkɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/wɜːkɪŋ/
Respelling
WUR-king
Syllables
2 — WOR-king
Stress
Stress the first syllable: WOR-king. “wor” 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

/ˈwɝkɪŋ/

British

/wɜːkɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “working” means

  1. noun

    a mine or quarry that is being or has been worked

  2. verb

    exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity

    “I will work hard to improve my grades”

  3. verb

    be employed

    “Is your husband working again?”

Say it in a sentence

“She has been working at the hospital for ten years.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
wwɝerkkɪshort iŋng

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

Questions

“working”, answered

How do you pronounce “working”?

“working” is pronounced /ˈwɝkɪŋ/ (WUR-king) in American English and /wɜːkɪŋ/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “wor”. Build it as WOR-king, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “working” have?

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

Is “working” said differently in British English?

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

What does “working” mean?

As a noun: a mine or quarry that is being or has been worked For example: “She has been working at the hospital for ten years.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “working”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “working” and see every sound

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