Syllabication Rules

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Syllabication Rules and end-of-line divisions

Syllabication is the art of forming or dividing words into syllables. Syllables are single speech parts that are made up of a vowel sound with or without a closely combined consonant sound.

In some languages, the spoken syllables are also the basis of Syllabication in writing. However, possibly due to the weak correspondence between sounds and letters in the spelling of modern English, written Syllabication in English is based mostly on etymological or morphological instead of phonetic principles. English written Syllabication therefore deals with a concept of "syllable" that doesn't correspond to the linguistic concept or a phonetic (as opposed to morphological) unit. As a result, even most native English speakers are unable to syllabify words accurately without consulting a dictionary or using a word processor. The process is, in fact, so complicated that even schools usually do not provide much more advice on the topic than to consult a dictionary. In addition, there are differences between British and US Syllabication and even between dictionaries of the same English variety.

The centered dots (·) in the example words below in each rule indicate potential end-of-line division points and not necessary syllabication. These division points are determined by considerations of both morphology and pronunciation, among others. Here a consistent approach has been pursued, both toward word division based on traditional formulas and toward syllabication based on phonetic principles. When you hyphenate a word hyphenate between syllables.

Hyphens (-) are used to separate syllables in pronunciation transcriptions. In actual speech, of course, there is no pause between the syllables of a word. The placement of hyphens is based on phonetic principles, such as vowel length, nasalization, variation due to the position of a consonant in a syllable, and other nuances of the spoken word. The syllable breaks shown in this text reflect the careful pronunciation of a single word out of context. Syllabication tends to change in rapid or running speech: a consonant at the end of a syllable may shift into a following syllable, and unstressed vowels may be elided. The numerous variations in pronunciation that a word may have in running speech are of interest to phoneticians but are well outside the scope of us.

As a result, the hyphens (-) indicating syllable breaks and the centered dots (·) indicating end-of-line division often do not fall in the same places.

Rule#1
Every syllable has one vowel sound.

Rule#2
The number of vowel sounds in a word equals the number of syllables.
home /ˈhoʊm/ = 1
sub·ject /ˈsʌb-ʤɪkt/ = 2
pub·lish·ing /ˈpʌ-blɪ-ʃɪŋ/ = 3

Rule #3
A one syllable word is never divided.
stop /ˈstɑ:p/
feet /ˈfi:t/
bell /ˈbɛl/

Rule#4
Consonant blends and digraphs are never separated.
rest·ing /ˈrɛs-tɪŋ/ *
bush·el /ˈbʊ-ʃəl/ *
reach·ing /ˈri:-tʃɪŋ/ *

* In speech the words above, the /t/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/ are properly pronounced in the second syllable.

Rule #5
When a word has a "ck" or an "x" in it, the word is usually divided after the "ck" or "x".
nick·el /ˈnɪ-kəl/ *
tax·is /ˈtæk-siz/ **

* In speech the word nick·el has the in the second syllable.
** The letter "x" in the word taxi has two sounds: /ks/. In speech the word taxi has the sound /ks/ with /k/ in the first syllable and /s/ in the second syllable.

Rule #6
A compound word is divided between the two words that make the compound
word.
in·side /ɪn-ˈsaɪd/ or /ˈɪn-ˌsaɪd/
foot·ball /ˈfʊt-ˌbɑ:l/
tooth·brush /ˈtu:θ-ˌbrʌʃ/

Rule #7
When two or more consonants come between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided between the first two consonants.
sis·ter /ˈsɪs-tɚ/
but·ter /ˈbʌ-tɚ/
hun·gry /ˈhʌŋ-gri/

Rule #8
When a single consonant comes between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided after the consonant if the vowel is short.
drag·on /ˈdræ-gən/ *
can·is·ter /ˈkæ-nəs-tɚ/ *
hab·it /ˈhæ-bət/ *

* In speech the above words have the consonant sounds /g/, /n/, and /b/ in the second syllable.

Rule #9
When a single consonant comes between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided before the consonant if the vowel is long.
ba·sin /ˈbeɪ-sṇ  .n/
fe·ver /ˈfi:-vɚ/
ma·jor /ˈmeɪ-ʤɚ/

Rule #10
When two vowels come together in a word, and are sounded separately, divided the word between the two vowels.
di·as·po·ra /daɪ-ˈæs-pə-rə/
di·et /ˈdaj-ət/
pro·nun·ci·a·tion /prə-ˌnʌn-si-ˈeɪ-ʃən/

Rule #11
When a vowel is sound alone in a word, it forms a syllable itself.
grad·u·ate /ˈgræ-ʤə-ˌweɪt/ *
ed·u·ca·tion /ˌɛ-ʤə-ˈkeɪ-ʃən/ *
hi·a·tus /haɪ-ˈeɪ-təs/

* In speech the words graduate and education, has the consonant "d" sound (/ʤ/) in the second syllable with the vowel "u".

Rule #12
A word that has a prefix is divided between the root word and the prefix.
dis·count /ˈdɪs-ˌkaʊnt/
mis·fit /ˈmɪs-ˌfɪt/
un·tie /ˌʌn-ˈtaɪ/

Rule #13
When be, de, ex and re are at the beginning of a word, they make a syllable of their ownn.
be·come /bɪˈ-kʌm/
de·fend /dɪ-ˈfɛnd/
ex·hale /eks-ˈheɪl/
re·main /rɪ-ˈmeɪn/

Rule #14
A world that has a suffix is divided between the root word and the suffix.
kind·ness /ˈkaɪnd-nəs/
thank·ful /ˈθæŋk-fəl/
stuff·ing /ˈstʌ-fɪŋ/ *

* In speech the word stuffing has the consonant sounds /f/ in the second syllable.

Rule #15
When a word ends in le, preceded by a consonant, the word is divided before that consonant.
pur·ple /ˈpɚ-pəl/
fum·ble /ˈfʌm-bəl/
mid·dle /ˈmɪ-dḷ  .l/

Rule #16
When -ed comes at the end of a word, it forms a syllable only when preceded by "d" or "t".
fund·ed /ˈfʌn-dəd/ *
start·ed /ˈstɑɚ-təd/ *

* In speech the above words have the consonant sounds /d/ and /t/ in the second syllable with -ed.

Rule#17
When a word or syllable ends in al or el, these letters usually form the last syllable.
usu·al /ˈju:-ʒə-wəl/ or /ˈju:ʒəl/ or /ˈju:ʒ-wəl/ *
lev·el /ˈlɛ-vəl/ *

* In speech the above words have the consonant sounds /ʒ/ and /v/ in the second syllable.

Rule #18
When ture and tion are at the end of a word, they make their own syllable.
pos·ture /ˈpɑ:s-tʃɚ/
lo·tion /ˈloʊ-ʃən/

Rule #19
When a word ends in ly, divide the word before the ending.
es·pe·cial·ly /ɪs-ˈpɛ-ʃə-li/
rough·ly /ˈrʌ-fli/ *

* In speech the word roughly has the consonant sounds /f/ in the second syllable.

Rule #20
When a word ends in the noun suffix ant preceded by a consonant or digraph, divide the word before that consonant or digraph.
as·sis·tant /ə-ˈsɪs-tənt/ *
at·ten·dant /ə-ˈtɛn-dənt/ *
im·mi·grant /ˈɪ-mə-grənt/ *

* In speech the words above have silent the first consonant sounds /s/, /t/, and /m/ in the first syllable.

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