Does "usually" have 3 syllables or 4?

Question

i have a speech problem that makes "usually" sound weird when i say it.

Answer 1

The easiest way is to count the vowels - a vowel for each syllable (it's english, so there are exceptions). In 'usually', 'y' acts like a vowel. There are 4 syllables; u-su-al-ly.

Answer 2

3

Answer 3

Most often it is pronounced with four syllables:

YOO - zhoo - uh- lee

But sometimes the second "u" ends up pronounced more like a consonantal W, so that you end up with:

YOO - zhwa - lee

Compare the following dictionary entry for "usual" (which can be either three or two syllables, for the reason explained above):

/ˈyuʒuəl, ˈyuʒwəl/ [yoo-zhoo-uhl, yoozh-wuhl]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/usually

Which one people use depends mainly on the dialect of English they speak -- but BOTH are considered entirely acceptable. And, if you listen closely, even those who pronounce it with four syllables pronounce the second syllable so quickly and lightly --it has no accent-- that it's hard to know whether it has three syllables or four. You might say, they pronounce it as having "between three and four syllables". (Actually, I suspect that some who have here argued for FOUR syllables as correct, may very well come close to pronouncing it as three without realizing it.)

Incidentally, part of the problem here is that the very IDEA of syllable --defined as "a single uninterrupted sound/segment of speech..." -- is in part an abstraction, trying to describe how we speak, but like may of the terms and "rules" we use to speak about language, does note do so perfectly. So, in this case, there are certainly THREE distinct 'segments', but whether a fourth distinct one can be separated out is not always as easy to say.

Answer 4

usually 3 but sometimes 4

Answer 5

technically it is 4 syllables but a lot of people only really pronounce it with 3 syllables

Answer 6

u-su-al-ly has 4 syllables
This is how you will always know: Put the back of your hand under your chin and say the word really slow. The number of times your chin drops down on your hand is the number of syllables in a word. Works everytime! Try it!

Answer 7

Four,four, four, four!. Usually has 4 syllables.
Phonetic pronunciation: Use-you-uh-lee. Pronounceing it correctly helped this kid remember how to spell it.

Answer 8

Four syllables, when you say it slowly.
But we usually run the 'ua' into one when we speak normally.
.

Answer 9

usually has four syllables...u·su·al·ly
Because someone might pronounce it "us-u-ly" doesn't automatically mean it has three syllables, it just means it's been mispronounced.

Answer 10

u- sua- lly 3 syllables