Is “diamond” two or three syllables?
“diamond” has 2 or 3 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 2. DY-mund (2) vs DY-uh-mund (3).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DY-muhnd | /ˈdaɪ.mənd/ | d ay · m ah n d | 2 | CMU dictionary |
| DY-uh-muhnd | /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/ | d ay · ah · m ah n d | 3 | Cambridge (US) |
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) /ˈdaɪə.mənd/
- Cambridge (US) /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/, /ˈdaɪ.mənd/, /ˈdɑɪ·mənd/
- Wiktionary /ˈdaɪ.ə.mənd/, /ˈdaɪ.mənd/
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'diamond' is safest as 2 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.