How to pronounce “naturally”
Naturally is pronounced /ˈnætʃərəliː/. It has 4 syllables, and the beat falls on the first one — næ. 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 næ in the right place matters more to a listener than getting every vowel perfect.
Stress pattern Oooo — capital letters mark the stressed beats.
The common mispronunciation of “naturally”
✗ Often said: /ˈnætɜːræliː/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /ˈnætʃərəliː/
Why the two come apart: the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written; also, a consonant letter takes an unexpected sound value here, so reading it "as written" comes out wrong.
This is why reading English aloud from spelling alone goes wrong so often: the letters of “naturally” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“naturally” sound by sound
“naturally” is built out of 7 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.
-
nTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth, lower the soft palate, and voice the air out through the nose.
-
æDrop the jaw noticeably, push the front of the tongue low and forward, and spread the lips — it is a flat, bright, fairly long American vowel.
-
tʃStop the air with the tongue against the ridge, then release it slowly into a /ʃ/, so it is a stop plus a hiss glued into one sound.
-
ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
-
əDo almost nothing: leave the tongue in its neutral resting position, mouth slightly open, and make the shortest, weakest possible vowel.
-
lTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth and let the voiced air flow around the sides of the tongue.
-
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 “naturally”
- How do you pronounce “naturally”?
- “naturally” is pronounced /ˈnætʃərəliː/, with the stress on the first syllable (næ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “naturally”?
- “naturally” has 4 syllables: næ · tʃər · ə · liː. The stress pattern is Oooo.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “naturally”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈnætɜːræliː/, but it is actually /ˈnætʃərəliː/, because the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written.
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.