What is a syllable?

There are so many words in the English language. One of the unique things about words is that they all have syllables. Some words like "cat" only have one syllable. But some words like "imagination" have five syllables.

Well.... what specifically is a syllable anyway?

• A syllable is the sound of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) that is created when pronouncing a word.


• The letter 'y' can be counted as a vowel, only if it creates the sound of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).
• For example: fry, try, cry, & dry

• Some words have two (or more) vowels next to each other. Other words have vowels that are silent.


• The number of times that you hear the sound of a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) is equal to the number of syllables the word has.

Check out this great YouTube video to help you!