How to pronounce cereal
Say it like SIR-ee-ul. Cereal has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (SIR).
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce cereal. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- SIR
- ee
- ul
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Cereal pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- SIRSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "i" in sit.
- eeKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the "ee" in see.
- ulKeep this part quick and light. The vowel is the relaxed "uh" in about.
American vs British pronunciation of cereal
American and British speakers say cereal in essentially the same way: /ˈsɪriəl/ in the US and /ˈsɪərɪəl/ in the UK.
British respelling: SEER-rih-ul.
What does cereal mean?
- grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet
- foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses
- a breakfast food prepared from grain
- made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it“a cereal beverage”“cereal grasses”
Where does cereal come from?
Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincer
Words that rhyme with cereal
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of cereal.
Words that sound like cereal
Questions about saying cereal
How do you pronounce cereal?
Say SIR-ee-ul. The American pronunciation is /ˈsɪriəl/. In British English it is /ˈsɪərɪəl/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in cereal?
Cereal has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the first one (SIR). Broken into parts: SIR · ee · ul.
Do Americans and Brits say cereal the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /ˈsɪriəl/ and the British form is /ˈsɪərɪəl/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.
What words sound the same as cereal?
Cereal sounds the same as serial in American English. The spelling and meaning are what tell them apart.