Is “basically” three or four syllables?
“basically” has 3 or 4 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 4. BAY-sik-lee (3) vs BAY-sik-uh-lee (4).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAY-si-klee | /ˈbeɪ.sɪ.kli/ | b ey · s ih · k l iy | 3 | CMU dictionary |
| BAY-si-kuh-lee | /ˈbeɪ.sɪ.kə.li/ | b ey · s ih · k ah · l iy | 4 | Cambridge (UK) |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
-ually / -ically reduction. The endings -ually and -ically are pronounced in full, partly reduced, or collapsed (ak-choo-uh-lee, ak-shuh-lee, aksh-lee), giving two or three counts for one word.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /ˈbeɪ.sɪ.kᵊl.i/
- Cambridge (US) /ˈbeɪ.sɪ.kᵊl.i/
- Wiktionary /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/ (GA,RP), /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.koʊ.li/ (HK)
See the morphemes in “basically” →
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'basically' is safest as 4 syllables, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 3 syllables; either scans if the line is read naturally, but say which you mean if the count matters (haiku judges usually accept the dictionary count).
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Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, checked against Cambridge Dictionary and Wiktionary transcriptions. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.