How to Pronounce “guerrilla”

American (US)

/ɡəˈɹɪlə/

British (UK)

/ɡəˈɹɪlə/

noun — A soldier in a small independent group, fighting against the government or regular forces by surprise raids.

Example: The right-wing paramilitary's offensive against the Marxist guerrillas failed because they did not know the terrain well enough.

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

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /ɡəˈɹɪlə/ 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 "guerrilla" mean?

guerrilla (noun): A soldier in a small independent group, fighting against the government or regular forces by surprise raids. For example — The right-wing paramilitary's offensive against the Marxist guerrillas failed because they did not know the terrain well enough.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "guerrilla", /ɡəˈɹɪlə/, 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 "guerrilla"?

/ɡəˈɹɪlə/ in American English, /ɡəˈɹɪlə/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "guerrilla"?

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

• Spanish loanwords