How to pronounce feeling in American English

IPA /ˈfiləŋ/ Syllables 2 · fee·luhng Stress 1st syllable

FEE·luhng

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Americans pronounce feeling as FEE-luhng (/ˈfiləŋ/). The unstressed syllable reduces to a lazy schwa — almost a quick "uh" — instead of being pronounced fully. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch FEE — keep everything else short and quick.

Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.

Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.

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Why it sounds different

Why "feeling" sounds like FEE·luhng.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, the way sentences stop sounding like a list and start sounding like speech. It comes out as FEE·luhng.

In real conversation

Hear "feeling" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Bless you! Are you feeling okay?"

BLEHS yoo ar yoo FEE·luhng oh·KAY

"He said he was feeling very sad yesterday."

hee sehd hee wuhz FEE·luhng VEH·ree SAD YEH·ster·day

"I am feeling much more optimistic about the future now."

ahy uhm FEE·luhng muhch MOR ahp·tuh·MIH·stuhk uh·BOWT dhuh FYOO·cher NOW

"I have a feeling that something is wrong."

ahy hav uh FEE·luhng dhuht SUHM·thuhng ihz RAHNG

"I have been feeling under the weather for the past few days."

ahy hav bihn FEE·luhng UHN·der dhuh WEH·dher fer dhuh PAST FYOO DAYZ

"She said she was feeling tired."

shee sehd shee wuhz FEE·luhng TAHY·erd

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch FEE — keep everything else short and quick.

fee·LUHNG→FEE·luhng

Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.

Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.

FEE·LUHNG→FEE·luhng

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "feeling" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the first syllable — say "FEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "FEE-luhng" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

Why does the second syllable in "feeling" reduce to "uh"?

Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "FEE-luhng" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.

Is the American pronunciation of "feeling" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "FEE-luhng" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.

Why "feeling" sounds like FEE·luhng.

Hear "feeling" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.

Questions people ask about this.

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