How to Pronounce “caramel”

American (US)

/ˈkærəmel/

British (UK)

/ˈkærəmel/

Australian (AU)

/ˈkæ.ɹəˌmɛl/

noun — Sugar heated until it browns, used as a sweet or a flavouring.

Example: The sauce had a deep caramel flavour.

Where the stress falls. “caramel” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈkærəmel/ 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. /ˈkærəmel/ 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 "caramel" mean?

caramel (noun): Sugar heated until it browns, used as a sweet or a flavouring. For example — The sauce had a deep caramel flavour.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "caramel", /ˈkærəmel/, 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 "caramel"?

/ˈkærəmel/ in American English, /ˈkærəmel/ in British English, /ˈkæ.ɹəˌmɛl/ in Australian English.

Which syllable is stressed in "caramel"?

“caramel” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈkærəmel/ 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.