How to pronounce “attention”
Say “attention” in 3 beats
attention
/əˈtɛnʃən/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɐtɛnʃən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- atə
- tentɛnstress
- tionʃən
- IPA (American)
- /əˈtɛnʃən/
- IPA (British)
- /ɐtɛnʃən/
- Respelling
- uh-TEN-shuhn
- Syllables
- 3 — at-TEN-tion
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: at-TEN-tion. “ten” 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
American and British are not the same here
/əˈtɛnʃən/
/ɐtɛnʃən/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “attention” means
- noun
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
- noun
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
“no medical care was required”
- noun
a general interest that leads people to want to know more
“She was the center of attention”
Say it in a sentence
“Pay attention to the vowel in the second syllable.”“attention”, answered
How do you pronounce “attention”?
“attention” is pronounced /əˈtɛnʃən/ (uh-TEN-shuhn) in American English and /ɐtɛnʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ten”. Build it as at-TEN-tion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “attention” have?
3: at · ten · tion. The beat lands on the second, “ten”.
Is “attention” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /əˈtɛnʃən/ (uh-TEN-shuhn); British English says /ɐtɛnʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “attention” mean?
As a noun: the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others For example: “Pay attention to the vowel in the second syllable.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “attention”?
Stress the second syllable: at-TEN-tion. “ten” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “attention” 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.