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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “americans”

“americans” is pronounced /əˈmɛɹəkənz/ (uh-ME-ruh-kuhnz) in American English and /ɐmɛɹɪkənz/ in British English, and /əˈmɛɹɪkənz/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “er”.
The sound

Say “americans” in 4 beats

Say it like this

americans

/əˈmɛɹəkənz/

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

4 beats
  1. amə
  2. ermɛstress
  3. icɹə
  4. anskənz
IPA (American)
/əˈmɛɹəkənz/
IPA (British)
/ɐmɛɹɪkənz/
Also accepted
/əˈmɛɹɪkənz/
Respelling
uh-ME-ruh-kuhnz
Syllables
4 — am-ER-ic-ans
Stress
Stress the second syllable: am-ER-ic-ans. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/əˈmɛɹəkənz/

British

/ɐmɛɹɪkənz/

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

Meaning

What “americans” means

  1. noun

    a native or inhabitant of the United States

  2. noun

    the English language as used in the United States

  3. noun

    a native or inhabitant of a North American or Central American or South American country

Say it in a sentence

“Many Americans travel abroad during the summer holidays.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
əschwa×3mmɛshort eɹrkknnzz

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

Questions

“americans”, answered

How do you pronounce “americans”?

“americans” is pronounced /əˈmɛɹəkənz/ (uh-ME-ruh-kuhnz) in American English and /ɐmɛɹɪkənz/ in British English, and /əˈmɛɹɪkənz/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “er”. Build it as am-ER-ic-ans, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “americans” have?

4: am · er · ic · ans. The beat lands on the second, “er”.

Is “americans” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /əˈmɛɹəkənz/ (uh-ME-ruh-kuhnz); British English says /ɐmɛɹɪkənz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “americans” mean?

As a noun: a native or inhabitant of the United States For example: “Many Americans travel abroad during the summer holidays.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “americans”?

Stress the second syllable: am-ER-ic-ans. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “americans” and see every sound

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