How many syllables in “civilian”?
“civilian” has 3 syllables: ci·vil·ian
IPA
/sə.ˈvɪl.jən/
Stress
ci-VIL-ian (pattern 0-1-0)
Division
ci·vil·ian
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ci-VIL-ian | /sə.ˈvɪl.jən/ | s ah · v ih l · y ah n | 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)
ci·vil·ian
Morphemes (2)
civil + -ian
The syllable breaks of civilian (ci·vil·ian) line up with its morphemes (civil + -ian): 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 "civilian"?
"civilian" has three syllables: ci·vil·ian.
How do you divide "civilian" into syllables?
ci·vil·ian. The syllable breaks of civilian (ci·vil·ian) line up with its morphemes (civil + -ian): 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.