How Many Syllables In Penicillin?
4syllables
Penicillin has 4 syllables, pen-i-cill-in. It is a polysyllabic word.
penicillin
/ˌpen.əˈsɪl.ən/ UK /ˌpen.əˈsɪl.ən/ US
Stress
The main stress falls on the third syllable, cill.
Syllable Structure
CVC/V/CVC/VC
Division By Sound
/pen.ə.sɪl.ən/
Division By Letters
pen-i-cill-in
A spelling guide that follows the sound division.
Tree Diagram Of Penicillin
S syllable, O onset, R rime, P peak, C coda, Ø no coda.
Parts Of Each Syllable
| Syllable | Onset | Peak | Coda | Pattern | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 secondary stress | p | e | n | CVC | closed |
| 2 | – | ə | – | V | open |
| 3 primary stress | s | ɪ | l | CVC | closed |
| 4 | – | ə | n | VC | closed |
Why Penicillin Divides Here
- Syllable 1 is stressed and has the short vowel /e/, so it keeps a coda /n/.
- Between syllables 2 and 3, /s/ goes to the right, following the Maximal Onsets Principle.
- Syllable 3 is stressed and has the short vowel /ɪ/, so it keeps a coda /l/.
Questions Students Ask
How many syllables are in penicillin?
Penicillin has 4 syllables, pen-i-cill-in. In British English it is transcribed /ˌpen.əˈsɪl.ən/.
Which syllable is stressed in penicillin?
The third syllable, cill, carries the main stress.
What is the syllable structure of penicillin?
Penicillin has the structure CVC/V/CVC/VC, where C is a consonant sound and V is a vowel sound.
How do you divide penicillin into syllables?
By sound, pen.ə.sɪl.ən. By letters, as a spelling guide, pen-i-cill-in.