How many syllables in “otherwise”?
“otherwise” has 3 syllables: oth·er·wise
IPA
/ˈʌð.ɚ.ˌwaɪz/
Stress
OTH-er-wise (pattern 1-0-2)
Division
oth·er·wise
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OTH-er-wise | /ˈʌð.ɚ.ˌwaɪz/ | ah dh · er · w ay z | 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)
oth·er·wise
Morphemes (2)
other + -wise
The syllable breaks of otherwise (oth·er·wise) line up with its morphemes (other + -wise): every morpheme boundary is also a syllable boundary, so the word divides the same way for a syllable count and for a morphology exercise.
Count syllables in your own text
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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 "otherwise"?
"otherwise" has three syllables: oth·er·wise.
How do you divide "otherwise" into syllables?
oth·er·wise. The syllable breaks of otherwise (oth·er·wise) line up with its morphemes (other + -wise): 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.