Is “ideal” two or three syllables?
“ideal” has 2 or 3 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 3. y-DEEL (2) vs y-DEE-ul (3).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eye-DEEL | /aɪ.ˈdil/ | ay · d iy l | 2 | CMU dictionary |
| eye-DEE-uhl | /aɪ.ˈdi.əl/ | ay · d iy · ah l | 3 | Cambridge (UK) |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
Vowel breaking or smoothing before l. A long vowel or diphthong before l (real, girl, oil, smile) often gets an extra schwa-like glide, REE-ul, so speakers hear two syllables where dictionaries write one.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /aɪˈdiː.əl/
- Cambridge (US) /aɪˈdiː.əl/, /ɑɪˈdil/
- Wiktionary /aɪˈdɪəl/ (UK), /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ (US)
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'ideal' is safest as 3 syllables, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 2 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.