Slova
Accessory is pronounced uhk-SES-uh-ree, with four syllables and the stress on the second. The cc is a k sound followed by an s sound, as in accept, so do not drop the k. American and British English say it the same way.
accessory
noun · an extra item that goes with something, such as a bag or belt with clothes; also, a person who helps with a crime
Also said: US /ækˈses.ər.i/.
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge's American dictionary also lists ak-SES-uh-ree. The recording is American English.
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
USUK American and British English/əkˈses.ər.i/
uhk
SESstressed
uh
ree
Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes accessory, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.
Tip. Start with uhk, not uh: the cc is a k plus an s, as in accept and accent.
Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.
Say this word
accessory
Compare
What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say uhk-SES-uh-ree.
Notuh-SES-uh-ree
Dropping the k, so the start sounds like assess. Say the k before the s: uhk-SES-uh-ree.
NotAK-ses-uh-ree
Stressing the first syllable, as in access. In accessory the stress moves to SES, the second syllable.
Notak-seh-SOR-ee
Stressing the third syllable, as in Spanish accesorio. Put the beat on SES and keep the end light.
Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.
A good belt is a useful accessory.
She was charged as an accessory to the robbery.
This case is the only phone accessory I need.
Accessory comes from the Medieval Latin accessorius, from the Latin verb accedere, to come near or to be added. An accessory is something added to the main thing. One of its oldest uses is in law, for a person who helps with a crime.
The spelling has two c's, and they make two sounds. When cc comes before e or i, the first c is k and the second is s: accept, accent, access, success, vaccine. So accessory starts uhk-SES.
Many speakers drop the k and say uh-SES-uh-ree, which sounds like a word that starts with assess. Cambridge and Oxford both keep the k. Think of access with a weak first syllable, uhk-SES, then add uh-ree.
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
In Slova you say new words out loud in every lesson, at your level, in lessons built around what you love.