How to pronounce “auxiliary”
Auxiliary is pronounced /ɑːɡˈzɪljəriː/. It has 4 syllables, and the beat falls on the second one — zɪ. Below: the syllable split, native audio in both accents, the mistake people actually make with this word, and every individual sound in it explained.
Syllables and stress
Split it into 4 beats. The highlighted syllable is the strong one: say it louder, longer and a touch higher in pitch, and let the others fall away. English is a stress-timed language, so getting zɪ in the right place matters more to a listener than getting every vowel perfect.
Stress pattern oOoo — capital letters mark the stressed beats.
“auxiliary” sound by sound
“auxiliary” is built out of 8 sounds. Say each one on its own first, slowly, then run them together at speed. Every sound links to a full guide with mouth position, the mistake learners make with it, and other words that use it.
-
ɑːOpen the mouth wide, drop the tongue low and back, keep the lips unrounded, and hold it long — the doctor-says-"ahh" vowel.
-
ɡBack of the tongue seals against the soft palate and releases while the voice is already on — no puff of air.
-
zExactly the /s/ tongue position with voicing added, so the airflow buzzes.
-
ɪRelax the tongue slightly lower and further back than for /iː/, keep the lips neutral, and make it short and lax.
-
lTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth and let the voiced air flow around the sides of the tongue.
-
jRaise the front of the tongue high toward the hard palate as if starting /iː/, then glide straight into the following vowel.
-
ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
-
iːSpread the lips into a smile, push the front of the tongue high and forward, and hold the sound tense and long.
Questions people ask about “auxiliary”
- How do you pronounce “auxiliary”?
- “auxiliary” is pronounced /ɑːɡˈzɪljəriː/, with the stress on the second syllable (zɪ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “auxiliary”?
- “auxiliary” has 4 syllables: ɑːɡ · zɪ · ljər · iː. The stress pattern is oOoo.
Stop looking words up one at a time
You just looked up one word. PHONO puts the IPA above every word of whatever you are reading — in your browser, in a PDF, in any app — the moment you select it. An offline pronunciation dictionary, US and UK audio, one hotkey.