How To Pronounce Afghanistan

In British English, Afghanistan is pronounced /æfˈɡæn.ɪ.stɑːn/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [æfˈɡæ̃n.ɪ.stɑ̃ːn]. In American English, it is pronounced /æfˈɡæn.ə.stæn/.

Afghanistan has four syllables, and the main stress falls on the second syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.