sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “acquaintance”

“acquaintance” is pronounced /əˈkweɪntəns/ (uh-KWAYN-tuhns) in American English and /ɐkweɪntəns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kweɪn”.
The sound

Say “acquaintance” in 3 beats

Say it like this

acquaintance

/əˈkweɪntəns/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐkweɪntəns/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. əə
  2. kweɪnkweɪnstress
  3. tənstəns
IPA (American)
/əˈkweɪntəns/
IPA (British)
/ɐkweɪntəns/
Respelling
uh-KWAYN-tuhns
Syllables
3 — ə-KWEꞮN-təns
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ə-KWEꞮN-təns. “kweɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/əˈkweɪntəns/

British

/ɐkweɪntəns/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “acquaintance” means

  1. noun

    personal knowledge or information about someone or something

  2. noun

    a relationship less intimate than friendship

  3. noun

    a person with whom you are acquainted

    “I have trouble remembering the names of all my acquaintances”

Say it in a sentence

“He is an acquaintance rather than a close friend.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
əschwa×2kkwweɪlong ann×2ttss

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“acquaintance”, answered

How do you pronounce “acquaintance”?

“acquaintance” is pronounced /əˈkweɪntəns/ (uh-KWAYN-tuhns) in American English and /ɐkweɪntəns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “kweɪn”. Build it as ə-KWEꞮN-təns, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “acquaintance” have?

3: ə · kweɪn · təns. The beat lands on the second, “kweɪn”.

Is “acquaintance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈkweɪntəns/ (uh-KWAYN-tuhns); British English says /ɐkweɪntəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “acquaintance” mean?

As a noun: personal knowledge or information about someone or something For example: “He is an acquaintance rather than a close friend.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “acquaintance”?

Stress the second syllable: ə-KWEꞮN-təns. “kweɪn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “acquaintance” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.

Practise this word freeMore words with A