Pronunciation · Everyday words people get wrong

How to pronounce “schedule”

SHED-yool

2 syllables · stress on “SHED”

SHEDyool

Britishˈʃedjuːl

Americanˈskedʒuːl

In short

“schedule” is pronounced SHED-yool: 2 syllables, with the stress on “SHED”. This is one of the sharpest British/American splits in ordinary vocabulary: SHED-yool in Britain, SKEJ-ool in America. Both are entirely standard. The version to avoid is Mixing the two accents mid-word, or stressing the second syllable.

Say “schedule” in 3 steps

1British model: SHED-yool, starting with the /ʃ/ of “ship”.
2American model: SKEJ-ool, starting with /sk/.
3Stress the first syllable in both. Pick one accent and stay with it.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: Mixing the two accents mid-word, or stressing the second syllable

This is one of the sharpest British/American splits in ordinary vocabulary: SHED-yool in Britain, SKEJ-ool in America. Both are entirely standard.

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

3 human recordings

Actual people saying “schedule”, 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 Soundguys, Dvortygirl and Commander Keane, licensed under CC0 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY-SA 4.0. 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.

British vs American

British SHED-yool and American SKEJ-ool are both fully standard. IELTS accepts either.

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.

ʃsh as in she ee as in bed dd as in day jy as in yes uːoo as in blue ll as in light

Don't confuse it with…

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

/s/ vs /ʃ/: see vs she

More everyday words people get wrong

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

clothesKLOHDHZ monthsMUNTHS sixthSIKSTH askedAHSKT FebruaryFEB-roo-uh-ree libraryLY-bruh-ree

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce schedule?

schedule is pronounced SHED-yool, written /ˈʃedjuːl/ in IPA. British model: SHED-yool, starting with the /ʃ/ of “ship”.

How many syllables are in schedule?

two: SHED-yool. The stress falls on “SHED”.

What is the most common mistake with schedule?

Mixing the two accents mid-word, or stressing the second syllable. This is one of the sharpest British/American splits in ordinary vocabulary: SHED-yool in Britain, SKEJ-ool in America. Both are entirely standard.

Is schedule pronounced differently in British and American English?

British SHED-yool and American SKEJ-ool are both fully standard. IELTS accepts either. IELTS accepts either accent, so choose one model and stay consistent.

The full sound library

Next step

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