How many syllables in “unbelievable”?
“unbelievable” has 5 syllables: un·be·lie·va·ble
IPA
/ˌʌn.bə.ˈli.və.bəl/
Stress
un-be-LIE-va-ble (pattern 2-0-1-0-0)
Division
un·be·lie·va·ble
Pronunciation
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| un-be-LIE-va-ble | /ˌʌn.bə.ˈli.və.bəl/ | ah n · b ah · l iy · v ah · b ah l | 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)
un·be·lie·va·ble
Morphemes (3)
un- + believe + -able
The syllables of unbelievable (un·be·lie·va·ble) do not line up with its morphemes (un- + believe + -able): the syllable “va” contains letters from two different morphemes. Syllables follow sound and spelling rules; morphemes follow meaning, so the two kinds of boundary need not agree.
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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 "unbelievable"?
"unbelievable" has five syllables: un·be·lie·va·ble.
How do you divide "unbelievable" into syllables?
un·be·lie·va·ble. The syllables of unbelievable (un·be·lie·va·ble) do not line up with its morphemes (un- + believe + -able): the syllable “va” contains letters from two different morphemes. Syllables follow sound and spelling rules; morphemes follow meaning, so the two kinds of boundary need not agree.
Is this syllable counter free?
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