2 syllables: cheap, ly. Stress on cheap.
CHEE-plee
/ˈtʃipli/
cheaply is pronounced CHEE-plee (/ˈtʃipli/). It has two syllables (cheap-ly), with the stress on "cheap". Cheaply is an adverb meaning in a way that is inexpensive or low in cost. It can also imply a sense of low quality or shabbiness when describing actions or outcomes. The core idea centers on minimal expense, often contrasted with value or quality, and is used across informal and formal contexts to denote pricing or frugality.
Cheaply is an adverb meaning in a way that is inexpensive or low in cost. It can also imply a sense of low quality or shabbiness when describing actions or outcomes. The core idea centers on minimal expense, often contrasted with value or quality, and is used across informal and formal contexts to denote pricing or frugality.
"They bought the printer cheaply, but it broke after a year."
"She spoke cheaply of the artist’s work, not appreciating the craft involved."
"We could travel cheaply by taking the regional train and staying in hostels."
Pronounce it as /ˈtʃiːp.li/. The first syllable is stressed and rhymes with 'beep' or 'deep', followed by a quick 'lee' sound. The tongue sits high in the front of the mouth for /iː/ and the /l/ is light and alveolar. The 'ch' is the /t͡ʃ/ sound, formed with the tongue blade lifting to the hard palate. Practice by saying 'cheap' with a brief, soft 'lee' in the second syllable. Listen to native speakers and imitate the rhythm: strong on the first syllable, then a short, clean second syllable.
Common errors include reducing the second syllable to a muted or swallowed 'lee' and misplacing the stress. Some learners pronounce it as 'cheep-lee' with equal light stress or mispronounce the /iː/ as a short /ɪ/. To fix: keep the first syllable longer and higher with /iː/ and ensure the final /li/ is a clear, light consonant onset with a clean /i/ vowel. Ensure the /t͡ʃ/ at the start is a single-chunk sound, not a 'ch' followed by a separate syllable onset.
In US English, the first syllable has the pure /iː/ vowel with a very clear /t͡ʃ/ onset, followed by a light /li/. UK English tends to have a very similar pattern, but you may hear slightly more dental or fronting variations in some regional voices; the /r/ is not pronounced, as the word isn’t rhotic. Australian English mirrors US/UK patterns but often features a flatter intonation and a somewhat centralized /iː/ quality. All variants keep /ˈt͡ʃiːp.li/ with a stress on the first syllable.
The challenge lies in maintaining a clear, long /iː/ vowel after the /t͡ʃ/ onset while keeping the second syllable /li/ short and light. The tongue must transition quickly from the alveolar to the high-front vowel without inserting a vowel in between. It's easy to slip into a clipped /i/ or a more pronounced /l/; focus on a clean separation between /iː/ and /li/ and keep the /t͡ʃ/ as a single, smooth unit.
A subtle yet important feature is the duration and strength of the first syllable's vowel. In careful speech, /iː/ remains long and tense, whereas in rapid speech the duration can compress slightly, pulling toward a near-short /i/ sound in some accents. The second syllable /li/ should stay unstressed and quickly articulated; avoid turning it into a separate syllable with a strong vowel.
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cheaply derives from cheap, which in Middle English meant 'trivial, of little value, or of low cost.' The root often traces to Old English ceap or gebaepod, with similar Germanic origins in words related to bargaining and sale. Over time, cheap came to describe not only price but also quality, value, or manner (as in cheap talk). The suffix -ly is a productive adverbial ending that converts adjectives into adverbs, yielding cheaply to modify verbs or adjectives describing how something is done. The concept of cost as a relative measure—cheap vs. expensive—emerged early in trade-centered societies, where the valuation of goods and services depended on scarcity, quality, and bargaining power. The first attestations for the adverb cheaply appear in Late Middle English or Early Modern English writing, where authors used it to emphasize frugality or low cost in action. As commerce and consumer culture evolved, cheaply retained its emphasis on low expense, while sometimes carrying pejorative implications about quality or ethics in specific contexts.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "cheaply" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "cheaply"
-tly sounds
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