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How to pronounce subtle

Subtle is pronounced SUT-l, rhyming with shuttle. It has two syllables with the stress on the first, and the b is silent. In American English the t is a quick, soft tap, so it sounds close to SUD-l.

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  • 2 syllables
  • Stress on SUT
  • US and UK IPA
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

subtle

Two syllables, stress on the first

adjective · small and not easy to notice; clever in a quiet way

  1. SUTsʌt̬ (stressed)
  2. ləl
  • US /ˈsʌt̬.əl/SUT-l Recorded voice
  • UK /ˈsʌt.əl/SUT-l Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.

Subtle, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

US American English/ˈsʌt̬.əl/

  1. SUTstressed

    • /s/as in see
    • /ʌ/as in cup
    • /t̬/as in water (US)

  2. l

    • /ə/as in about
    • /l/as in leg

UK British English/ˈsʌt.əl/

  1. SUTstressed

    • /s/as in see
    • /ʌ/as in cup
    • /t/as in tea

  2. l

    • /ə/as in about
    • /l/as in leg

Say subtle yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes subtle, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. The b is silent. Start with SUT, as in cut, and rhyme it with shuttle.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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subtle

    Common subtle pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say SUT-l.

    • NotSUB-tl

      Saying the b. It is silent, as in debt and doubt.

    • NotSOOT-l

      Reading u as in put. It is the short u of cup.

    • Notsoo-TEEL

      Using the Spanish or Portuguese sutil, stressed at the end. Stress SUT and keep the end weak.

    Subtle in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • There is a subtle difference between the two colors.

    • Her humor is subtle, so listen closely.

    • The soup has a subtle taste of lemon.

    Why is there a silent b in subtle?

    Subtle came into Middle English from Old French, and early spellings such as sotil and sutil had no b at all.

    The b is there because of Latin. The source word was subtilis, fine or delicate, from sub, under, and tela, a web. Writers who knew Latin put the b back into the spelling, but the standard pronunciation stayed without it.

    Debt and doubt have the same story: a b added to match Latin, and not said. In subtle, go straight from SU to T: SUT-l. The noun subtlety works the same way: SUT-l-tee.

    Words that sound like subtle

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

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