How many syllables in “inability”?
“inability” has 5 syllables: in·a·bil·i·ty
IPA
/ˌɪ.nə.ˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/
Stress
in-a-BIL-i-ty (pattern 2-0-1-0-0)
Division
in·a·bil·i·ty
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-a-BIL-i-ty | /ˌɪ.nə.ˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/ | ih · n ah · b ih l · ih · t iy | 5 | 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 (5)
in·a·bil·i·ty
Morphemes (3)
in- + able + -ity
The syllable breaks of inability (in·a·bil·i·ty) line up with its morphemes (in- + able + -ity): every morpheme boundary is also a syllable boundary, so the word divides the same way for a syllable count and for a morphology exercise.
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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 "inability"?
"inability" has five syllables: in·a·bil·i·ty.
How do you divide "inability" into syllables?
in·a·bil·i·ty. The syllable breaks of inability (in·a·bil·i·ty) line up with its morphemes (in- + able + -ity): 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.