How To Pronounce Optical

In British English, optical is pronounced /ˈɒp.tɪ.kəl/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈɒp.tɪ.kl̩]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈɑːp.tɪ.kəl/.

Optical has three 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.