How many syllables in “ability”?
“ability” has 4 syllables: a·bil·i·ty
IPA
/ə.ˈbɪl.ə.ˌti/
Stress
a-BIL-i-ty (pattern 0-1-0-2)
Division
a·bil·i·ty
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a-BIL-i-ty | /ə.ˈbɪl.ə.ˌti/ | ah · b ih l · ah · t iy | 4 | CMU dictionary |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Syllables vs. morphemes
Syllables (4)
a·bil·i·ty
Morphemes (2)
able + -ity
The syllable breaks of ability (a·bil·i·ty) line up with its morphemes (able + -ity): every morpheme boundary is also a syllable boundary, so the word divides the same way for a syllable count and for a morphology exercise.
Count syllables in your own text
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Open the syllable counter →Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many syllables are in "ability"?
"ability" has four syllables: a·bil·i·ty.
How do you divide "ability" into syllables?
a·bil·i·ty. The syllable breaks of ability (a·bil·i·ty) line up with its morphemes (able + -ity): every morpheme boundary is also a syllable boundary, so the word divides the same way for a syllable count and for a morphology exercise.
Is this syllable counter free?
Yes. The Fixie syllable counter is free, needs no signup, and runs in your browser; paste any text to count syllables, see stress and IPA.