There are several ways you can pronounce the word ‘comfortable’ in English. One of the most common pronunciations is: kumf-t’r-b’l [IPA: ˈkʌmf.təɹ.bəl].
The primary stress is on the first syllable.
Watch my tutorial on how to pronounce ‘comfortable’ and practice with me:
In addition, there is no EY diphthong in this word, so the ending doesn’t sound like the word ‘table’.
- kumf
The first syllable begins with the K sound and the CUP sound – a very short vowel that sounds like a stressed schwa sound. Then, there’s a shift to an M and F sounds.
And remember: despite the spelling, there is no O sound in the first syllable. - t’r
The second syllable sounds like a shift from a T sound to an R sound. In between there’s a short schwa sound. Note that even though in the spelling the letter R comes before the T, it’s actually pronounced the other way around: first the T, then the R. And it also doesn’t sound like the ‘ta’ in ‘table’. - b’l
Similarly, the third syllable is a shift from a B sound to an L sound.
Want to know how to learn other long words in English? Watch the episode on how to pronounce long words in English.
If some of the sounds we mentioned are unfamiliar to you, check the additional resources at the bottom of this post where we collected resources for you to learn more about them.
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Additional resources on the sounds that we mentioned in this tutorial:
