Is “world” one or two syllables?
“world” has 1 or 2 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 1. WURLD (1) vs WUR-uld (2).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WURLD | /ˈwɝld/ | w er l d | 1 | CMU dictionary |
| WUR-uhld | /ˈwɝ.əld/ | w er · ah l d | 2 | Wiktionary (NZ) |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
Vowel breaking or smoothing before l. A long vowel or diphthong before l (real, girl, oil, smile) often gets an extra schwa-like glide, REE-ul, so speakers hear two syllables where dictionaries write one.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /wɜːld/
- Cambridge (US) /wɝːld/, /wɜrld/
- Wiktionary /wɜːld/ (RP,AU), /wɝld/ (GA,CA), [wɝɫd] (GA,CA), /wɵːld/ (NZ)
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'world' is safest as 1 syllable, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 2 syllables; either scans if the line is read naturally, but say which you mean if the count matters (haiku judges usually accept the dictionary count).
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Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, checked against Cambridge Dictionary and Wiktionary transcriptions. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.