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Why "vegetable" sounds different in British English
British English says /ˈvedʒtəbl/: "VEJ", then a weak "tuh", then "bl". The second E is silent, and the "-table" ending is not pronounced like the furniture. Its vowel becomes a schwa and the final syllable is just a syllabic L.
Here British and American English largely agree; some Americans keep a four-syllable /ˈvedʒətəbl/. What gives learners away is saying every letter, or stressing "TAY". In everyday British speech you will also hear the short form "veg", as in "meat and two veg" or "fruit and veg", rhyming with "edge". "Vegetarian" is different: there all the syllables are kept.
How to say "vegetable" like a Brit, step by step
- Start with vej, rhyming with "edge".
- Skip the second E and go straight to t.
- Make the rest weak: tuh-bl, not "TAY-bul".
- Stress the first syllable only: VEJ-tuh-buhl.
Practise "vegetable" in a sentence
- We grow our own vegetables on the allotment.
- Try to eat more fruit and veg.
- She made a lovely vegetable soup for lunch.
Saying it once correctly is easy. Saying it right in the middle of a fast sentence is the hard part, which is why the sentences above matter more than the single word.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce vegetable in a British accent?
In Received Pronunciation, vegetable is pronounced /ˈvedʒtəbl/, roughly "VEJ-tuh-buhl". Say three syllables with the stress at the start: VEJ-tuh-buhl.
Is the American pronunciation of vegetable wrong?
No. /ˈvedʒtəbl/ or /ˈvedʒətəbl/ is standard in American English. Both are correct, they simply belong to different accents. If you are learning a British accent, aim for /ˈvedʒtəbl/.