Pronunciation · Words that change with stress

How to pronounce “subject”

SUB-jikt

2 syllables · stress on “SUB”

SUBjikt

Britishˈsʌbdʒɪkt

Americanˈsʌbdʒɪkt

In short

“subject” is pronounced SUB-jikt: 2 syllables, with the stress on “SUB”. The noun is one of the most frequent words in academic English, and the verb (to subject someone to something) is formal enough that learners rarely hear the contrast modelled. The version to avoid is sub-JEKT for the school subject.

Say “subject” in 3 steps

1Noun and adjective: SUB-jikt — a school subject, subject to change.
2Verb: sub-JEKT — to subject someone to something.
3The noun's second syllable reduces; the verb's carries a full /e/.

The version to avoid

Commonly said as: sub-JEKT for the school subject

The noun is one of the most frequent words in academic English, and the verb (to subject someone to something) is formal enough that learners rarely hear the contrast modelled.

“subject” as a verb

Used when subject means to make someone undergo something.

sub-JEKT

səbˈdʒekt · stress on “JEKT”

subJEKT

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 “subject”, 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.

ss as in see ʌu as in cup bb as in bed dʒj as in job ɪi as in sit kk as in key tt as in tea

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 projectPROJ-ekt contractKON-trakt increaseIN-krees

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce subject?

subject is pronounced SUB-jikt, written /ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/ in IPA. Noun and adjective: SUB-jikt — a school subject, subject to change.

How many syllables are in subject?

two: SUB-jikt. The stress falls on “SUB”.

What is the most common mistake with subject?

sub-JEKT for the school subject. The noun is one of the most frequent words in academic English, and the verb (to subject someone to something) is formal enough that learners rarely hear the contrast modelled.

Does subject change as a verb?

Yes. Used when subject means to make someone undergo something. That form is pronounced sub-JEKT, /səbˈdʒekt/ in IPA.

The full sound library

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