How To Pronounce Hopeful

In British English, hopeful is pronounced /ˈhəʊp.fəl/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈhəʊp.fəɫ]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈhoʊp.fəl/.

Hopeful has two syllables, and the main stress falls on the first 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.