Word 278 of 545 · Crazy spellings
How to pronounce especially
/ɪˈspeʃəli/ British English
i·SPESH·ə·lee
4 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the second one.
a Coloured letters don’t sound the way they look.
✗ Many people say
ex·PE·cial·ly
✓ Say
i·SPESH·ə·lee
My tip
There’s no x! It starts with i-SPESH.
In a sentence
I love fruit, especially apples.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: i-SPESH-ə-lee.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce especially?
In British English, especially is pronounced /ɪˈspeʃəli/. Say it like this: i-SPESH-ə-lee. There’s no x! It starts with i-SPESH.
How many syllables are in especially?
When you say it, especially has 4 syllables: i-SPESH-ə-lee. The strong beat is the second one, SPESH.
More words like this: crazy spellings
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: /e/ as in “bed”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
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