Syllable vs. Vowel — What's the Difference?

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. It is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants).

A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant.

A unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word; for example, there are two syllables in water and three in inferno.

A speech sound, such as (ē) or (ĭ), created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and oral cavity, usually forming the most prominent and central sound of a syllable.

Pronounce (a word or phrase) clearly, syllable by syllable.

A letter, such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in the English alphabet, that represents a vowel.

A unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound formed by a vowel, diphthong, or syllabic consonant alone, or by any of these sounds preceded, followed, or surrounded by one or more consonants.

(phonetics) A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable.

One or more letters or phonetic symbols written or printed to approximate a spoken syllable.

(orthography) A letter representing the sound of vowel; in English, the vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and y.

The slightest bit of spoken or written expression

(linguistics) To add vowel points to a consonantal script (e.g. niqqud in Hebrew or harakat in Arabic).

To pronounce in syllables.

A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; - distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, 5, 146-149.

(linguistics) A unit of human speech that is interpreted by the listener as a single sound, although syllables usually consist of one or more vowel sounds, either alone or combined with the sound of one or more consonants; a word consists of one or more syllables.

Of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal.

The written representation of a given pronounced syllable.

A speech sound made with the vocal tract open

A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle.

A letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel

To utter in syllables.

An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong, either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the whole produced by a single impulse or utterance. One of the liquids, l, m, n, may fill the place of a vowel in a syllable. Adjoining syllables in a word or phrase need not to be marked off by a pause, but only by such an abatement and renewal, or reënforcement, of the stress as to give the feeling of separate impulses. See Guide to Pronunciation, 275.

In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a syllable in the spoken language.

A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle.

To pronounce the syllables of; to utter; to articulate.

A unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme;