How many syllables in “playing”?
“playing” has 2 syllables: play·ing
IPA
/ˈpleɪ.ɪŋ/
Stress
PLAY-ing (pattern 1-0)
Division
play·ing
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAY-ing | /ˈpleɪ.ɪŋ/ | p l ey · ih ng | 2 | 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 (2)
play·ing
Morphemes (2)
play + -ing
The syllable breaks of playing (play·ing) line up with its morphemes (play + -ing): 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
Paste a line or a whole poem: syllables, stress, IPA and meter, free and in your browser.
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 "playing"?
"playing" has two syllables: play·ing.
How do you divide "playing" into syllables?
play·ing. The syllable breaks of playing (play·ing) line up with its morphemes (play + -ing): 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.