Capricious pronunciation
Capricious has 3 syllables. The stress is on the second syllable, "prih". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.
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Capricious syllables
Capricious has 3 syllables: kuh-PRIH-shuhs.
- kuhkə
- PRIHprɪ
- shuhsʃəs
Kuh-PRISH-us, three syllables, stress on "prish". The "-cious" is "shus", and the middle vowel is a short i — it does not rhyme with "precious" or "delicious"’s "leesh".
The -s ending adds a syllable, pronounced iz, because the base word ends in a hissing sound.
Sounds to watch
The r sound
Pull the tongue back and up without touching the roof of the mouth. American r is never rolled or tapped.
Weak syllables
The unstressed syllables use a short, relaxed uh (schwa). Rushing through them lightly is correct; giving them a full vowel sounds unnatural.
Short i versus ee
The short i (as in sit) is shorter and more relaxed than ee. Many learners stretch it into ee, which changes the word.
The sh sound
Sh is made further back than s, with the lips slightly rounded and the tongue lower. Keep it separate from s: "shun" is not "sun".
Capricious in a sentence
- The weather here is capricious: sun, hail, and sun again in an hour.
- A capricious manager is harder to work for than a strict one.
Read either sentence into the recorder above. The check judges only the target word, so the rest of the sentence can be rough.
What Speakeroo listens for
These are the pronunciation patterns from Speakeroo’s speech feature catalog that this target tends to expose. The check above reports the ones it hears.
- Final -s ending unclearUse the correct /s/, /z/ or /ɪz/ ending and keep it audible.
- Stress placed on the wrong syllableMake the correct syllable longer, clearer and more prominent.
- /r/ distorted or unclearUse the selected accent’s tongue shape without pressing the tongue against the palate.
- 'sh' /ʃ/ too soft or unclearRound the lips slightly and produce continuous air along the centre of the tongue.
- Final consonant omittedHold the final mouth position briefly without adding another vowel.
Questions
How do you pronounce capricious?
Capricious is pronounced /kə.ˈprɪ.ʃəs/, or kuh-PRIH-shuhs in plain letters. It has 3 syllables and the stress falls on the second syllable, "prih".
How many syllables are in capricious?
3: kuh-PRIH-shuhs. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.
How do you use capricious in a sentence?
The weather here is capricious: sun, hail, and sun again in an hour. A capricious manager is harder to work for than a strict one.
How is the ending of capricious pronounced?
The -s ending adds a syllable, pronounced iz, because the base word ends in a hissing sound.
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