Usually syllables depend on vowels
also,you should transcribe if you know how
eg1:the word cat,here we have 1 syllable because we have 1 vowel which is a
eg2:the word age,here we have 1 syllable too ,you will say how there are 2 vowels and so on
when the vowel is placed at the end,it does not matter,in this situation we should transcribe the word
that's why,you should master transcription
eg3:the word good,here we have 1 syllable because when a vowel follows a vowel ,it doesn't matter
eg4:the word ethics we have 2 syllables because we have 2 vowels i and e
eg5:the word politics,we have 3 syllables po and li and tics
so,you notice that we divide them according to vowels
In brief,syllables depend on vowels
when you have 1 vowel in a word,it means there is 1 syllable
if we have 2 vowels after each other,they are just 1 vowes,thus 1 syllable eg:free
or 2 vowels ,1 in the middle and the others at the end ,it means 1 syllable eg:nice
Best of luck