The word grateful is divided into 3 syllables: gra·te·ful. Understanding this syllable division is essential for correct pronunciation and spelling.
The phonetic transcription of grateful:
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From grate (“(obsolete) serving to gratify, agreeable, pleasing; grateful, thankful”) + -ful (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of tending to have or thoroughly having a quality). Grate is a learned borrowing from Latin grātus (“agreeable, pleasing; beloved, dear; grateful, thankful”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerH- (“to express approval, praise; to elevate”).
Understanding how to break down grateful into syllables helps with:
Explore syllable divisions of words related to grateful:
grateful has 3 syllables: gra·te·ful. The word is divided into 3 distinct sound units that make up the complete pronunciation.
The stress is on the first syllable: gra. This means you emphasize the "gra" part when pronouncing grateful.
grateful is pronounced as /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ʊ)l/ (IPA notation). The syllables are divided as: gra·te·ful.
Breaking grateful into syllables helps with spelling: gra·te·ful. By pronouncing each syllable separately, you can identify the letters more easily and avoid common spelling mistakes.
Learning syllable division helps with correct pronunciation, improved spelling, better reading fluency, and is useful for poetry and lyric writing where syllable counting matters. It's especially helpful for language learners.