How to pronounce "finales" in English
FI·na·les
Primary stress: fi
Hear native speakers say finales in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “finales”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
FI
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
na
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
les
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("FI"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "finales" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "finales is" sounds like "finales-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "finales" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“Así ocurrió con la lepra en Occidente, a finales de la Edad Media; digamos, entre los siglos XII y XIV.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“that create false finales or mini finales, and then we continue with the body of the display until we reach the actual finale.”— WIREDWatch clip
“Weíve seen the sunrise I would say, on, of the 9 finales we've shot, I would say on 5 of 9 of them we have seen the birds chirp because we, you know, we wanna make sure we've”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“Three of them end with traditional rondo finales, of which we played one to open this set.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“well porque al finales de cuando la cosa van saliendo en la final say you the”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“there are too many leaks so they do the core part of the show and then they do the finales elsewhere right near the end”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “finales”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
Así ocurrió con la lepra en Occidente, a finales de la Edad Media; digamos, entre los siglos XII y XIV.
Hear it in context: “finales”
14 clipsThe English word “finales”. Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (fi · na · les), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (fi). Grammatically, “finales” functions as a noun, adjective, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 14 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “finales” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks, WIRED.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @0:39
“y respecto a enfermedades mucho más terribles que la que estamos conociendo. Así ocurrió con la lepra en Occidente, a finales de la Edad Media; digamos, entre los siglos XII y XIV. a finales de la Edad Media; digamos, entre los siglos XII y XIV.”
- 🇺🇸 USWIREDClip #2 · @3:45
“we like to build in little sequences into the display that create false finales or mini finales, and then we continue with the body of the display until we reach the actual finale. and then we continue with the body of the display”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @52:40
“It's not rare that we have finished our finale at 5, 6, 7 o'clock in the morning. Weíve seen the sunrise I would say, on, of the 9 finales we've shot, I would say on 5 of 9 of them we have seen the birds chirp because we, you know, we wanna make sure we've of 9 of them we have seen the birds chirp because we, you know, we wanna make sure we've”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @32:31
“Three of them end with fugues. Three of them end with traditional rondo finales, of which we played one to open this set. of which we played one to open this set.”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @8:00
“player decide his own future you can decide everything if things go well porque al finales de cuando la cosa van saliendo en la final say you the manager or the club it's always me you went away from Bremen because you didn't”
Definition & Meaning: “finales”
- A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.
- A final examination taken at the end of the final year of an undergraduate course, which contributes towards a student's degree classification.
- Last; ultimate.
- Conclusive; decisive.
- To qualify for the final round of a competition.
Example Sentences (3)
- “It was tough cramming for those midterms and finals, staying up 72 hours straight hepped up on caffeine and pizza.”
- “final solution; the final day of a school term”
- “Así ocurrió con la lepra en Occidente, a finales de la Edad Media; digamos, entre los siglos XII y XIV.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “finales”
- Syllables:
- fi · na · les
- Primary stress:
- fi
- Hear it in context
- finales
Synonyms: “finales”
Hear words related in meaning to “finales” in real video clips:
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"finales" has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "finales" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about finales
How many syllables are in “finales”?
“finales” has 3 syllables: fi · na · les.
Where is the stress in “finales”?
The primary stress in “finales” is on “FI”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “finales” mean?
A final examination; a test or examination given at the end of a term or class; the test that concludes a class.
How can I hear “finales” used in real sentences?
This page has 14 real-world video examples of “finales” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “finales”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).