Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 187 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce disaster
/dɪˈzɑːstə/ British English
di·ZAH·stə
3 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the second one.
a Coloured letters don’t sound the way they look.
✗ Many people say
DIS·as·ter
✓ Say
di·ZAH·stə
My tip
Stress the middle, and the s sounds like z: di-ZAH-stə.
In a sentence
The party was a disaster!
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: di-ZAH-stə.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce disaster?
In British English, disaster is pronounced /dɪˈzɑːstə/. Say it like this: di-ZAH-stə. Stress the middle, and the s sounds like z: di-ZAH-stə.
How many syllables are in disaster?
When you say it, disaster has 3 syllables: di-ZAH-stə. The strong beat is the second one, ZAH.
More words like this: the stress trap
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /ɑː/ as in “car”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Word stress setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
- More gamesFive of my English games are free to play.