Slova
Educated is pronounced EJ-uh-kay-tid in American English and EJ-oo-kay-tid in British English. It has four syllables with the stress on the first. The d and the u together make a j sound, so the word starts like edge.
educated
adjective · having had a good education; based on some knowledge, as in an educated guess
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Oxford gives EJ-oo-kay-tid for both accents. The recording is American English.
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
US American English/ˈedʒ.ə.keɪ.t̬ɪd/
EJstressed
uh
kay
tid
UK British English/ˈedʒ.ʊ.keɪ.tɪd/
EJstressed
oo
kay
tid
Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes educated, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.
Tip. Start with EJ, like edge. The du sounds like j, not d.
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educated
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What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say EJ-uh-kay-tid.
NotED-oo-kay-tid
Saying a hard d. The d and the u merge into j: EJ.
Noted-yoo-KAY-tid
Using the stress of education. In educated the stress is on the first syllable.
NotEJ-uh-kaytd
Saying -ed as a plain d. After t, -ed adds a syllable: tid.
Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.
She's a highly educated woman with two degrees.
It was an educated guess, not a fact.
He was educated in Canada and France.
The u in educate starts with a short y sound, as in you. When d meets that y, the two melt into j. The same thing happens in gradual, procedure and individual, and in the American way of saying schedule.
The ending matters too. After a t or a d, -ed is a full extra syllable, as in wanted and needed. So educate has three syllables and educated has four. In American English the t becomes a quick tap, close to a soft d.
The stress stays at the front: EJ. In education it jumps to KAY: ej-uh-KAY-shun. Practise the pair so the stress does not slide.
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
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