How to Pronounce “beautiful”

American (US)

/ˈbjuːtɪfəl/

British (UK)

/ˈbjuːtɪfəl/

adjective — Pleasing to the senses or the mind.

Example: It was a beautiful, cloudless morning.

Synonyms: lovely, gorgeous

Antonyms: ugly

Where the stress falls. “beautiful” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ contains a schwa /ə/ — the short, neutral “uh” that English unstressed syllables collapse into. Saying /ə/ there, instead of the vowel the spelling suggests, is most of what makes the word sound native.

What does "beautiful" mean?

beautiful (adjective): Pleasing to the senses or the mind. For example — It was a beautiful, cloudless morning.

How do you pronounce "beautiful" in American vs British English?

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "beautiful", /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/, so the difference you hear is in how the vowels are coloured rather than in which sounds are used. Play both on this page to compare.

What is the IPA transcription of "beautiful"?

/ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ in American English, /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "beautiful"?

“beautiful” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

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