How many syllables in “basketball”?
“basketball” has 3 syllables: bas·ket·ball
IPA
/ˈbæs.kət.ˌbɔl/
Stress
BAS-ket-ball (pattern 1-0-2)
Division
bas·ket·ball
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAS-ket-ball | /ˈbæs.kət.ˌbɔl/ | b ae s · k ah t · b ao l | 3 | 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 (3)
bas·ket·ball
Morphemes (2)
basket + ball
The syllable breaks of basketball (bas·ket·ball) line up with its morphemes (basket + ball): 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
Paste a line or a whole poem: syllables, stress, IPA and meter, free and in your browser.
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 "basketball"?
"basketball" has three syllables: bas·ket·ball.
How do you divide "basketball" into syllables?
bas·ket·ball. The syllable breaks of basketball (bas·ket·ball) line up with its morphemes (basket + ball): 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.