To pronounce "sailing", say SAIL-ing — 2 syllables, IPA /ˈseɪ.lɪŋ/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.
sailing
Tap to hear · American accent
Accent
If an accent sounds the same, your device is missing that voice — it falls back to the closest one.
Speed
Syllable by syllable — tap each one
Record yourself saying sailing, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.
2
Syllables
7
Letters
/ˈseɪ.lɪŋ/
IPA
"sailing" has 2 syllables: sail-ing. It rhymes with prevailing and wailing, if that helps it stick.
Sounds exactly like: saling — easy to mix up when writing.
verb
Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.
Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.
"Sailing" has 2 syllables: sail · ing.
The IPA transcription of "sailing" is /ˈseɪ.lɪŋ/.
Sailing: To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
Want the definition, translations into 8 languages, and read-aloud for full sentences?
Open “sailing” in the full dictionary →