How many syllables in “unlock”?

“unlock” has 2 syllables: un·lock

IPA
/ən.ˈlɑk/
Stress
un-LOCK (pattern 0-1)
Division
un·lock

Pronunciation

Say it likeIPASyllablesCountSource
un-LOCK /ən.ˈlɑk/ ah n · l aa k 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)
un·lock
Morphemes (2)
un- + lock

The syllable breaks of unlock (un·lock) line up with its morphemes (un- + lock): 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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Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many syllables are in "unlock"?
"unlock" has two syllables: un·lock.
How do you divide "unlock" into syllables?
un·lock. The syllable breaks of unlock (un·lock) line up with its morphemes (un- + lock): 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.