Is “being” one or two syllables?
“being” has 1 or 2 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 2. BEE-ing (2) vs BEENG (1).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEE-ing | /ˈbi.ɪŋ/ | b iy · ih ng | 2 | CMU dictionary |
| BEENG | /ˈbiŋ/ | b iy ng | 1 | Wiktionary (RP) |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
Vowel merging (two vowels in a row). Two adjacent vowels (po-em, li-on, sci-ence, be-ing) can be run together into one syllable in casual or regional speech, so the count drops by one.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /ˈbiː.ɪŋ/
- Cambridge (US) /ˈbiː.ɪŋ/, /ˈbi·ɪŋ/
- Wiktionary /ˈbiː.ɪŋ/ (RP), /ˈbiːŋ/ (RP), /ˈbi.ɪŋ/ (GA), /ˈbi.iŋ/ (Upper Midwestern US,Western US,CA,pre-/ŋ/ tensing)
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'being' is safest as 2 syllables, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 1 syllable; 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.