# pronunciation: comfortable



## ScienceDay

How do you pronounce "comfortable"? I pronounce it "kumf-ter-bul".​


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## dancealot247

you pronounce it as kum-furt-ah-bul


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## Moogey

KUM-for-tuh-bull

Is how I pronounce it 

-M


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## .   1

kumfertuble
is the way I say it.

.,,


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## buddingtranslator

Science Day I pronounce it the same as you. "Kum-fer-tuh-bal" is too long winded for me so I elide the "fer" part so it makes it easier and quicker to say. It obviously varies from one person to another.


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## ScienceDay

Yeah, I certainly have three syllables in "comfortable" rather than four.​


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## Fernita

*kúmf te bl *is the way I pronounce it.

In fact,the "*e"* is pronounced as a *shwa.*


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## Moogey

Fernita said:
			
		

> *kumfertebl *with the stress on kum is the way I pronounce it.


Was it a typo or do you not pronounce the 'r'? 

-M


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## ScienceDay

<<Was that a typo or do you not pronounce the "r">>

I assume Fernita doesn't.​​


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## Fernita

Moogey said:
			
		

> Was it a typo or do you not pronounce the 'r'?
> 
> -M


 
Moogey, don´t panic! lol *No, I don´t pronounce it.* 
It´s a pity I can´t write in phonetics because I haven´t got the symbols.

I love phonetics and diction and I know some people do pronounce it while others don´t.
I don´t even pronounce it in *comfort.*

Believe it or not, I studied the most formal British English.

For instance, I´d pronounce *formal* like this  */fo:ml/.*
If you look it up in a British diccionary, you´ll understand what I mean.
I´ll see if I can find it in one of my diccionaries and paste it.
I´d like to know your opinion.


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## VoogerTown

I pronounce "comfortable" as "kum-fer-tuh-bul".​


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## Fernita

Moogey, just look it up in the WRD and look at the pronunciation in phonetics. That´s the way I pronounce it.


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## Fernita

ScienceDay said:
			
		

> <<Was that a typo or do you not pronounce the "r">>​
> 
> 
> I assume Fernita doesn't.​
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ​


 
And what do you think about it?
Please, tell me. Thanks!


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## Moogey

Fernita: Oh yeah, I forgot that they teach foreign learners to pronounce things as they do in BE.

I understand what you mean. However, I hear do hear an 'r' in BE, it's just not nearly as "strong" as that of AE. I think of it as soft and barely there, but surely existent and audible 

-M


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## simpaticavp

Filipinos pronounce it Com For Ta Bl
but for me I pronounce it Comf Ta Bl
as its how I hear it from Americans.

I just dont know how the English people 
pronounce it.


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## GreenWhiteBlue

If I am being a tad, er,_ exquisite_, I pronounce it as a four-syllable word, and am careful about pronouncing the "r". If I am speaking normally, without conscious thought given to my pronunciation and with the New York accents of my family, neighborhood, and co-workers, I would describe the pronunciation exactly as Fernita described it when this thread was fresh two years ago:


> *kúmf te bl *is the way I pronounce it.
> 
> In fact,the "*e"* is pronounced as a *shwa.*


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## panjandrum

GreenWhiteBlue said:


> If I am being a tad, er,_ exquisite_, I pronounce it as a four-syllable word, and am careful about pronouncing the "r". If I am speaking normally, without conscious thought give to my pronunciation and with the New York accents of my family, neighborhood, and co-workers, I would describe the pronunciation exactly as Fernita described it when this thread was fresh two years ago:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *kúmf te bl *is the way I pronounce it.
> 
> In fact,the "*e"* is pronounced as a *shwa.*
Click to expand...

*Exactly *what I wanted to say, leaving out the bit about New York accents, of course


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## ewie

/'kʌmftəbəl/ ... for anyone who's been waiting three years for the IPA (3-syllable, British, inexquisite GWB, _*r*_-less) version


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## natkretep

Ah, yes, I was waiting for the IPA. That's my pronunciation although my last syllable would be with a syllabic /l/ with no /ə/ (schwa).

But funny things happen when you're singing. If you think of 'Sing ye comfortably to Jerusalem' ('Comfort ye' from Handel's _Messiah_), I would sing /'kʌmfɔːtəblɪ/ - ie with a full vowel for the second syllable instead of omitting it altogether!


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## GreenWhiteBlue

natkretep said:


> If you think of 'Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem' ('Comfort ye' from Handel's _Messiah_), I would sing /'kʌmfɔːtəblɪ/ - ie with a full vowel for the second syllable instead of omitting it altogether!


 
Of course, Handel was not a native English speaker, and could do strange things with syllables in English.  Note, for example, "the dead shall be raised incorruptible", where the accent in "incorruptible" falls on the _tib._


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## a little edgy

> If I am being a tad, er,_ exquisite_, I pronounce it as a four-syllable word, and am careful about pronouncing the "r". If I am speaking normally, without conscious thought given to my pronunciation and with the New York accents of my family, neighborhood, and co-workers, I would describe the pronunciation exactly as Fernita described it when this thread was fresh two years ago:
> 
> 
> 
> Quote:
> *kúmf te bl *is the way I pronounce it.
> 
> In fact,the "*e"* is pronounced as a *shwa.*
Click to expand...

I pronounce it exactly the same way, except that I have a rhotic accent and would insert a tiny "r" after the schwa. I think this how most Americans pronounce the word normally (with or without the "r," depending on their accent), using the four-syllable pronunciation only for emphasis - or exquisiteness, as the case may be.


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## JamesM

I'm in the same camp as a_little_edgy.  For me it is three syllables in common use with a slight "r" in the second syllable.


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## olives

what about the "-p" in comfortable?

*comfortable   adjective                              ( CLOTHES/FURNITURE )                         
*

/ˈkʌm_p_ .fə.tə.bl ̩/

Do you pronounce a "-p" in comfortable?
 Is it in BrE or AmE? 

Thanks!


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## panjandrum

I haven't seen 'p' in the pronunciation of comfortable ... until now 
It's not in my pronunciation, but I see it included as optional in M-W (linked from the WR dictionary:
\ˈkəm(p)(f)-tə(r)-bəl, ˈkəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl, ˈkəm-fə(r)-bəl\

See also the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/comfortable_1?q=comfortable

Those are the only dictionaries I could find that include 'p' - clearly as an alternative pronunciation.


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## JulianStuart

The transition from a terminal m to an initial f in the following word or syllable in fast speech makes my mouth do something similar to saying a plosive p - go from closed lips to open lips and blow out at the same time without voicing - the similarity is perhaps being suggested in the pronunciations with the (p).


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## olives

and I haven't seen anyone in this thread mentioning a "-p-" in the pronunciation. Maybe an old English pronunciation?


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## Loob

Did you see Julian's post 25, olives?

I'm sure he's right and that what's being referred to in the pronunciation guides you found is a transitional 'unreleased' [p].


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## olives

Yes, I have, Loob. His explanation sounds really good.

a transitional "unreleased" p. This is impressive. 

I have seen in other words I think.

Thanks!


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## JulianStuart

Loob said:


> Did you see Julian's post 25, olives?
> 
> I'm sure he's right and that what's being referred to in the pronunciation guides you found is a transitional 'unreleased' [p].


Thanks, Loob - I hoped someone "skilled in the art" would provide the proper term for my lay attempt at description!


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## Loob

Oh, I don't claim "skill in the art", Julian (if only...!) - I was really only reiterating what you said.


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## Palabrarista

I was surfing the web and found this phrase: "sga sofa(really *comftrebol*)."

It caught my eye because I constantly hear Americans pronounce the word "comfortable" just as it is written above.

Is it true that native speakers pronounce it that way?


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## boozer

Was the person illiterate or just joking? When I read it spelled like this it sounds like some foreign accent...


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## Glasguensis

It is true that some people pronounce it like that, but not everyone. I don't, for example.


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## Palabrarista

boozer said:


> Was the person illiterate or just joking? When I read it spelled like this it sounds like some foreign accent...



I think the person is American, and I wonder if it's common to pronounce "comfortable" that way because I've heard a lot of Americans pronounce it like that.


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## boozer

But what about that bol at the end? Is that supposed to sound like 'ball'?


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## reubos

The two pronunciations are kəmfərtəbəl (cumfortubul) and kəmftərbəl (cumfterbul)


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## Chasint

Palabrarista said:


> I was surfing the web and found this phrase: "sga sofa(really *comftrebol*)."
> 
> It caught my eye because I constantly hear Americans pronounce the word "comfortable" just as it is written above.
> 
> Is it true that native speakers pronounce it that way?


As a Brit I've noticed this tendency in the speech of some Americans. It applies to other words as well. I'll try to think of some.  In any case it occurs because the "fort" syllable is unstressed and tends towards "frt".

In non-rhotic BE there is a similar phenomenon and most people say /comftable/.


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## Palabrarista

Thanks Glasguensis for your answer. I will start using this type of pronunciation from now on because it's easier for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



boozer said:


> But what about that bol at the end? Is that supposed to sound like 'ball'?


I don't think so; it sounds more like a schwa to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Biffo said:


> As a Brit I've noticed this tendency in the speech of some Americans. It applies to other words as well. I'll try to think of some.  In any case it occurs because the "fort" syllable is unstressed and tends towards "frt".
> 
> In non-rhotic BE there is a similar phenomenon and most people say /comftable/.



 Thank you Biffo for your answer, and Yes, I've also heard comftable. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



reubos said:


> The two pronunciations are kəmfərtəbəl (cumfortubul) and kəmftərbəl (cumfterbul)



I do hear cumfortubul all the time, but I have never heard cumfterbul but cumftrebul. 

Thank you so much !


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## mplsray

Merriam-Webster dictionaries usually list more pronunciation variants than do other dictionaries. Here's what it lists for _comfortable_. Please note that all of these are based upon pronunciations which were found in actual speech and are on file at Merriam-Webster offices:



> \ˈkəm(p)(f)-tə(r)-bəl, ˈkəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl, ˈkəm-fə(r)-bəl\



The parentheses indicate a sound which may be included or omitted in a variant, so that \'kəm(p)-fə(r)-tə-bəl\, for example, represents the pronunciations \'kəmp-fər-tə-bəl\, \'kəmp-fə-tə-bəl\, \'kəm-fə-tə-bəl\, and \'kəm-fər-tə-bəl\.


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## MarcB

I too have heard different pronunciations but never *comftrebol, This spelling would sound like comf tray bol. Comfortabol and comftable are the most common that I have heard.*


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## stephenlearner

This new question has been added to a previous discussion. 
Cagey, moderator 

Hi,

In American English, how do you deal with the* fort* part in the word comfortable? Is it reduced to ft? Is there a r sound between f and t?

Thank you.


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## ośmiornica

Too bad the forum does not support IPA alphabet symbols...

In BrE, it's reduced to /ft/
In AmE, a very weak schwa sound is there. I have heard a few people pronouncing a very, very weak r there as well, but it's usually dropped.

Compare: comfortable Pronunciation in English


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## natkretep

You can certainly copy and paste IPA symbols here. Sites like this one will allow you to do that: Type IPA phonetic symbols - online keyboard

The represented pronunciation in BrE is usually /ˈkʌm.fə.tə.bəl/, and for AmE /ˈkʌm.fɚ.t̬ə.bəl/ - (comfortable Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary).

As osmiornica says, the first schwa is usually dropped in BrE. (I do, anyway.) We'll have to wait for AmE speakers to say what they do with it!


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## ośmiornica

natkretep said:


> You can certainly copy and paste IPA symbols here. Sites like this one will allow you to do that: Type IPA phonetic symbols - online keyboard



That's odd. I tried to copy/paste the schwa symbol from Wikipedia and from my dictionary app, but it didn't work. 
And thanks for the link!


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## Myridon

The "US" pronunciation on the Cambridge dictionary sounds almost as British as the "UK" one to me.
comfortable - WordReference.com Dictionary of English
The US and US Southern pronunciation there both have the "fer" syllable for "for" (even though it shows the IPA  /ˈkʌmftəbəl/ without the 'er' next to it)


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## dojibear

I think there is a range among AE speakers. The WR's AE audio clips sound normal to me, but so does the Cambridge AE one. 

But if I am speaking quickly, I do something else: I move the R sound to the next syllable, making it "kumf-ter-bul". 

Perhaps I am the only person in the US doing this. But I suspect there are many others.


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## andrewg927

The Cambridge US pronunciation shows 4 syllables but I feel like I never really pronounce the "er" in "fer". It's more 3 syllables to me. Maybe because I'm lazy.


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## andrewg927

dojibear said:


> I think there is a range among AE speakers. The WR's AE audio clips sound normal to me, but so does the Cambridge AE one.
> 
> But if I am speaking quickly, I do something else: I move the R sound to the next syllable, making it "kumf-ter-bul".
> 
> Perhaps I am the only person in the US doing this. But I suspect there are many others.



No you're not the only one


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