Is “elementary” four or five syllables?
“elementary” has 4 or 5 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 5. el-uh-MEN-tree (4) vs el-uh-MEN-tuh-ree (5).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| el-uh-MEN-tree | /ˌɛl.ə.ˈmɛn.tɹi/ | eh l · ah · m eh n · t r iy | 4 | CMU dictionary |
| el-uh-MEN-ter-ree | /ˌɛl.ə.ˈmɛn.tɚ.ɹi/ | eh l · ah · m eh n · t er · r iy | 5 | CMU dictionary |
| el-uh-MENCH-ree | /ˌɛl.ə.ˈmɛntʃ.ɹi/ | eh l · ah · m eh n ch · r iy | 4 | CMU dictionary |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
Us vs uk -ary / -ory endings. American English keeps a full vowel in -ary/-ory/-erry (SEK-ruh-terr-ee); British English reduces or drops it (SEK-ruh-tree), so the count differs by accent.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /ˌel.ɪˈmen.tᵊr.i/
- Cambridge (US) /ˌel.əˈmen.t̬ɚ.i/, /ˌel·əˈmen·tri/
- Wiktionary /ˌɛlɪˈmɛntəɹi/ (RP), /ˌɛlɪˈmɛntɹi/ (RP), /ˌɛləˈmɛntəɹi/, /ˌɛləˈmɛntɹi/
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'elementary' is safest as 5 syllables, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 4 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.