Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 189 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce efficient
/ɪˈfɪʃənt/ British English
i·FISH·ənt
3 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the second one.
a Coloured letters don’t sound the way they look.
✗ Many people say
EF·fi·cient
✓ Say
i·FISH·ənt
My tip
Stress the second beat, and cient is shənt.
In a sentence
This new heater is very efficient.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: i-FISH-ənt.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce efficient?
In British English, efficient is pronounced /ɪˈfɪʃənt/. Say it like this: i-FISH-ənt. Stress the second beat, and cient is shənt.
How many syllables are in efficient?
When you say it, efficient has 3 syllables: i-FISH-ənt. The strong beat is the second one, FISH.
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.
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