Chipotle is a name of a type of smoke-dried jalapeño pepper and also the name of a popular chain of restaurants. But, how do you say it? Let's take a look at the pronunciation of this word.

Syllable Overview

The spelling for

can be segmented like this:

chi-pot-le

The IPA for this word is:

tʃɪˈpoʊtleɪ

First Syllable

[tʃɪ]

The first sound in this syllable is , a voiceless alveolar affricate. This sound is a combination of and , and is made by quickly saying and then saying .

The second sound in this syllable is . This is a high near-front high lax unrounded vowel. The vowel is made by sticking your tongue forward into your mouth and making sure the tongue is raised while your lips remain unrounded. Your tongue should not be tense. This sound is one of the difficult vowels for non-native speakers of American English to hear and say, and they often substitute for it. The sounds are similar, but not the same. The vowel is pronounced with less tension in the tongue, and also the tongue is not pushed as forward in the mouth, which is why it is a near-front and not a front vowel sound.

This is an unstressed syllable. Make sure you are making it shorter, quieter, and with a lower pitch.

Second Syllable

[poʊt]

The first sound in this syllable is . This is the voiceless bilabial stop. It is made by stopping the airflow by closing your two lips together while your vocal cords are not vibrating.

The second sound in this syllable is . This is a diphthong, which is a combination of two vowel sounds. The diphthong is said by saying the vowel and then quickly changing your mouth position to say .

The third sound in this syllable is , which is a voiceless alveolar stop. This sound is made by stopping the airflow by touching your tongue to your gum ridge while your vocal cords are not vibrating.

This syllable has primary stress. Compared to the other two syllables in the word

, it is louder, longer, and has a higher pitch.

Third Syllable

[leɪ]

The first sound in this syllable is . This is a voiced alveolar lateral liquid. This sound is made by raising your tongue near your alveolar ridge with a slightly spread tongue, and allowing the air to flow over your tongue lightly while your vocal cords are vibrating.

The second sound in this word is . The sound eɪ is a diphthong, and is said by saying and quickly switching your mouth position in order to say .

This is an unstressed syllable. Make sure you are making it shorter, quieter, and with a lower pitch.

Word Origin

The word originates from Nahuatl, a language spoken is central Mexico that also was spoken by the Aztecs. It's said to be a compound of the words chilli, meaning "chili pepper" and poctli, meaning "smoke". Aside from

, English has received many loanwords from Nahuatl including the previously mentioned as well as .

Summary

The word

is pronounced with three syllables. The second syllable has the most emphasis, and the first and third syllables are emphasized. Nahuatl is the source of the word .