Is “prayer” one or two syllables?
“prayer” has 1 or 2 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 1. PRAIR (1, the words said) vs PRAY-er (2, a person who prays).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRAIR | /ˈpɹɛɹ/ | p r eh r | 1 | CMU dictionary |
| PRAY-er | /ˈpɹeɪ.ɚ/ | p r ey · er | 2 | 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
Meaning-dependent pronunciation. The same spelling is pronounced with different counts depending on its meaning or part of speech (prayer, aged, learned, blessed, separate).
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /preə(r)/
- Cambridge (US) /prer/, /preər/
- Wiktionary /pɹɛə/ (RP), /pɹɛɚ/, /ˈpɹɛɹ/, /ˈpɹeɪ.ɚ/
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
The count follows the meaning (PRAIR (1, the words said) vs PRAY-er (2, a person who prays).). In a haiku or metrical line, count the reading you intend; readers will hear the other only if the context invites it.
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 →Related words
Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, checked against Cambridge Dictionary and Wiktionary transcriptions. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.