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    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

    1. 1Noun and adjective: SUB-jikt — a school subject, subject to change.
    2. 2Verb: sub-JEKT — to subject someone to something.
    3. 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

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    0/6 practised

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    Three speakers per accent

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    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 seeʌu as in cupbb as in beddʒj as in jobɪi as in sitkk as in keytt 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-untrecordREK-ordobjectOB-jiktprojectPROJ-ektcontractKON-traktincreaseIN-krees

    Keep exploring

    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.

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