---
title: "How to Pronounce Telling: IPA & Syllable Guide | Speakeroo"
description: "Pronounce Telling as /ˈtɛ.lɪŋ/ — TEH-lihng. Say it out loud and get free AI feedback in seconds. Stress falls on the first syllable."
url: "https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/telling"
---

[How to pronounce](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce)

# How to pronounce Telling

/ˈtɛ.lɪŋ/

TEH-lihng

Telling has 2 syllables. The stress is on the first syllable, "teh". Capital letters in the respelling show where the stress falls.

## Say telling and check it

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Accent

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Listen

Press record, say "telling" once or twice at normal speed, then stop. You will see which syllables matched and what to change.

## Telling syllables

Telling has 2 syllables: TEH-lihng.

1. TEH tɛ
2. lihng lɪŋ

Two syllables: TEL-ing.

## Sounds to watch

### The l sound

Touch the tongue tip to the ridge behind your top teeth. At the end of a syllable the l is darker and the back of the tongue rises.

### 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 ng sound

The ng is one nasal sound made with the back of the tongue. There is no separate hard g after it.

## Telling in a sentence

- His silence was more telling than any answer.
- I am telling you this so you can plan ahead.

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 -ing pronounced unclearly Raise the back of the tongue for /ŋ/ and avoid adding /g/ unless the word requires it.
- Final consonant omitted Hold the final mouth position briefly without adding another vowel.
- /ɪ/ and /iː/ confused Make /iː/ higher, tenser and usually longer than /ɪ/.
- Every syllable stressed equally Emphasise one main syllable and reduce the others.

## Questions

### How do you pronounce telling?

Telling is pronounced /ˈtɛ.lɪŋ/, or TEH-lihng in plain letters. It has 2 syllables and the stress falls on the first syllable, "teh".

### How many syllables are in telling?

2: TEH-lihng. The capital letters mark the stressed syllable.

### How do you use telling in a sentence?

His silence was more telling than any answer. I am telling you this so you can plan ahead.

## More words like this

[tortoise](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/tortoise) [trended](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/trended) [tucson](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/tucson) [accessed](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/accessed) [aesthete](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/aesthete) [agate](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/agate) [The th sound](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/th) [The d sound](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/d) [-ed endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/ed) [-s endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/s) [-ds endings](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce/ds) [All words](https://speakeroo.app/how-to-pronounce) [Pronunciation practice](https://speakeroo.app/pronunciation-practice) [Tongue twisters](https://speakeroo.app/tongue-twisters)

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