How many syllables in “computer”?

“computer” has 3 syllables: com·put·er

IPA
/kəm.ˈpju.tɚ/
Stress
com-PUT-er (pattern 0-1-0)
Division
com·put·er

Pronunciation

Say it likeIPASyllablesCountSource
com-PUT-er /kəm.ˈpju.tɚ/ k ah m · p y uw · t er 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)
com·put·er
Morphemes (2)
compute + -er

The syllable breaks of computer (com·put·er) line up with its morphemes (compute + -er): every morpheme boundary is also a syllable boundary, so the word divides the same way for a syllable count and for a morphology exercise.

Full morpheme breakdown of “computer” →

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Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many syllables are in "computer"?
"computer" has three syllables: com·put·er.
How do you divide "computer" into syllables?
com·put·er. The syllable breaks of computer (com·put·er) line up with its morphemes (compute + -er): 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.