How to pronounce "ligates" in English
li·ga·tes
Hear native speakers say ligates in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “ligates”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
li
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
ga
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
tes
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Keep the vowel length balanced, placing subtle emphasis on the root morpheme according to standard conversational rhythm.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America.
How Native Speakers Say It: In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "ligates" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "ligates is" sounds like "ligates-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "ligates" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“helices, grabs the two ends, passes it around the other side, and ligates them back together, and keeps doing that”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“Ligase ligates. It is so lucky that these words turn out to have accidentally made sense.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“It's really cool. So ligase ligates.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“you add that, and ligase ligates the fragments together.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“ligates to the pieces of DNA that the RNA polymerase was transcribing the gene on.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“On the left-hand side we get self-ligation products where a DNA molecule ligates to itself.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
Practice Speaking “ligates”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
helices, grabs the two ends, passes it around the other side, and ligates them back together, and keeps doing that
Hear it in context: “ligates”
8 clipsThe English word “ligates”. Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (li · ga · tes). Grammatically, “ligates” functions as a verb. SayItVid indexes 8 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “ligates” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from MIT OpenCourseWare.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #1 · @18:51
“and makes a double stranded cut in one of the double helices, grabs the two ends, passes it around the other side, and ligates them back together, and keeps doing that side, and ligates them back together, and keeps doing that”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #2 · @12:44
“So ligase does the ligation. Ligase ligates. It is so lucky that these words turn out to have accidentally made sense. It is so lucky that these words turn out to have”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #3 · @12:53
“accidentally made sense. It's really cool. So ligase ligates. So ligase ligates.”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #4 · @33:26
“ligase. So, you purify ligase from bacteria, you add that, and ligase ligates the fragments together. Why do bacteria have an enzyme ligase? do bacteria have an enzyme ligase?”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #5 · @59:17
“where the piece of DNA that the enhancer was on, ligates to the pieces of DNA that the RNA polymerase was transcribing the gene on. transcribing the gene on.”
Definition & Meaning: “ligates”
- To bind with a ligature or bandage.
- To connect text characters with a ligature.
Example Sentences (2)
- “helices, grabs the two ends, passes it around the other side, and ligates them back together, and keeps doing that”
- “Ligase ligates. It is so lucky that these words turn out to have accidentally made sense.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “ligates”
- Syllables:
- li · ga · tes
- Hear it in context
- ligates
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"ligates" 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, "ligates" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about ligates
How many syllables are in “ligates”?
“ligates” has 3 syllables: li · ga · tes.
What does “ligates” mean?
To bind with a ligature or bandage.
How can I hear “ligates” used in real sentences?
This page has 8 real-world video examples of “ligates” 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 “ligates”?
Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America. In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].