Pronunciation · Words that change with stress

How to pronounce “increase”

IN-krees

2 syllables · stress on “IN”

INkrees

Britishˈɪnkriːs

Americanˈɪnkriːs

In short

“increase” is pronounced IN-krees: 2 syllables, with the stress on “IN”. IELTS Writing Task 1 and any data description use both forms in the same sentence, so the contrast has to be automatic rather than thought about. The version to avoid is in-KREES for the noun — extremely common when describing charts and data.

Say “increase” in 3 steps

1Noun: IN-krees — a rise, an amount.
2Verb: in-KREES — to go up or make something go up.
3The same rule covers decrease, export, import and progress.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: in-KREES for the noun — extremely common when describing charts and data

IELTS Writing Task 1 and any data description use both forms in the same sentence, so the contrast has to be automatic rather than thought about.

“increase” as a verb

Used when increase means to grow or to raise something.

in-KREES

ɪnˈkriːs · stress on “KREES”

inKREES

Hear real people say it

Model audio is consistent; real speech is not. Hearing several actual speakers is what makes a word recognisable when someone says it at full speed.

Real speakers

2 human recordings

Actual people saying “increase”, not a synthetic voice. Real speech varies — that variation is what you need to recognise, and what a single model voice cannot show you.

Recordings from Wikimedia Commons by Dvortygirl, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Full credits.

Practise it out loud

Reading about a sound does not change your mouth. Say it, hear it back, and fix one thing at a time.

Say it yourself

0/6 practised

Listen first, then record. You get feedback on the individual sounds, the stress and the rhythm — no account needed, and nothing is stored.

Three speakers per accent

Recordings are used only to generate this feedback and are not stored. Your accent is never penalised: IELTS scores intelligibility, and so do we.

The sounds inside this word

Each links to a full guide with mouth position, audio and drills. If a word keeps failing, the problem is usually one of these.

ɪi as in sit nn as in no kk as in key rr as in red iːee as in see ss as in see

Don't confuse it with…

Minimal pairs isolate the exact contrast this word depends on — the fastest way to train both ear and mouth.

/ɪ/ vs /iː/: ship vs sheep

More words that change with stress

Same pattern, same fix. Learning them as a group is far faster than one at a time.

presentPREZ-unt recordREK-ord objectOB-jikt subjectSUB-jikt projectPROJ-ekt contractKON-trakt

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce increase?

increase is pronounced IN-krees, written /ˈɪnkriːs/ in IPA. Noun: IN-krees — a rise, an amount.

How many syllables are in increase?

two: IN-krees. The stress falls on “IN”.

What is the most common mistake with increase?

in-KREES for the noun — extremely common when describing charts and data. IELTS Writing Task 1 and any data description use both forms in the same sentence, so the contrast has to be automatic rather than thought about.

Does increase change as a verb?

Yes. Used when increase means to grow or to raise something. That form is pronounced in-KREES, /ɪnˈkriːs/ in IPA.

The full sound library

Next step

Find every word you're getting wrong

SpeakMetry's Pronunciation Coach scores your speech on the features IELTS examiners assess — individual sounds, word and sentence stress, intonation and rhythm — and builds a plan from your weakest sounds. Free to start.

Try the Pronunciation Coach free