How to pronounce "take up" in English
ta·keup
Hear native speakers say take up in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “take up”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
ta
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
keup
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: 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 "take up" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "take up is" sounds like "take up-iz").
In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "take up" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“take up arms and it scenes like this that keep her in the fight this Village near their Camp was”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“take up that that uh flame and continue our march towards freedom and realize um the the dreams and the”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“take up to four years a backs stop not a target to set up uh a new service which”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“take up mixed martial arts as a way to make some quick money um and in 2013 26”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“Take up as little time as possible, and make it as easy to deal with as possible.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“take up to two years to make a single Tomahawk.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “take up”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
take up arms and it scenes like this that keep her in the fight this Village near their Camp was
Hear it in context: “take up”
4,769 clipsThe English word “take up”. Phonologically, it consists of 2 syllables (ta · keup). Grammatically, “take up” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 4,769 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “take up” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USClip #1 · @10:29
“the military Crackdown pushed her to take up arms and it scenes like this that keep her in the fight this Village near their Camp was the fight this Village near their Camp was”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @7:56
“living nation and we will have many generations who would take up that that uh flame and continue our march towards freedom and realize um the the dreams and the towards freedom and realize um the the dreams and the”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @7:12
“become law. Uh Steven Kinnick the health minister uh said last week that it would take up to four years a backs stop not a target to set up uh a new service which would have the proper safeguards and controls. Um interesting if you look at”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @70:33
“having all of the correct identity papers he eventually suggests that you take up mixed martial arts as a way to make some quick money um and in 2013 26 years old you went to the MMA Factory in France and introduced your coach”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @7:01
“You want to be concise and precise. Take up as little time as possible, and make it as easy to deal with as possible. and make it as easy to deal with as possible.”
Definition & Meaning: “take up”
- The act of taking something up, by tightening, absorption, or reeling in.
- That which takes up or tightens; specifically, a device in a sewing machine or loom for drawing up the slack thread as the needle rises, in completing a stitch.
Example Sentences (2)
- “take up arms and it scenes like this that keep her in the fight this Village near their Camp was”
- “take up that that uh flame and continue our march towards freedom and realize um the the dreams and the”
Pronounce: “take up”
- Syllables:
- ta · keup
- Hear it in context
- take up
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"take up" 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, "take up" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about take up
How many syllables are in “take up”?
“take up” has 2 syllables: ta · keup.
What does “take up” mean?
The act of taking something up, by tightening, absorption, or reeling in.
How can I hear “take up” used in real sentences?
This page has 4769 real-world video examples of “take up” 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 “take up”?
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⁄).