Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 212 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce understand
/ˌʌndəˈstænd/ British English
un·də·STAND
3 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the third one.
✗ Many people say
UN·der·stand
✓ Say
un·də·STAND
My tip
Stress the end: un-də-STAND.
In a sentence
Do you understand what I mean?
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: un-də-STAND.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce understand?
In British English, understand is pronounced /ˌʌndəˈstænd/. Say it like this: un-də-STAND. Stress the end: un-də-STAND.
How many syllables are in understand?
When you say it, understand has 3 syllables: un-də-STAND. The strong beat is the third one, STAND.
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: /æ/ as in “cat”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
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