How To Pronounce Principal

In British English, principal is pronounced /ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [ˈpr̥ɪ̃n.sə.pl̩]. In American English, it is pronounced /ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/.

Principal has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.

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.