How to pronounce “balance”
Say “balance” in 2 beats
balance
/ˈbæləns/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /baləns/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- bæbæstress
- lənsləns
- IPA (American)
- /ˈbæləns/
- IPA (British)
- /baləns/
- Respelling
- BA-luhns
- Syllables
- 2 — BÆ-ləns
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: BÆ-ləns. “bæ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈbæləns/
/baləns/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “balance” means
- noun
a state of equilibrium
- noun
equality between the totals of the credit and debit sides of an account
- noun
harmonious arrangement or relation of parts or elements within a whole (as in a design); - John Ruskin
“in all perfectly beautiful objects there is found the opposition of one part to another and a reciprocal balance”
Say it in a sentence
“She stood on one leg to test her balance.”“balance”, answered
How do you pronounce “balance”?
“balance” is pronounced /ˈbæləns/ (BA-luhns) in American English and /baləns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “bæ”. Build it as BÆ-ləns, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “balance” have?
2: bæ · ləns. The beat lands on the first, “bæ”.
Is “balance” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈbæləns/ (BA-luhns); British English says /baləns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “balance” mean?
As a noun: a state of equilibrium For example: “She stood on one leg to test her balance.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “balance”?
Stress the first syllable: BÆ-ləns. “bæ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “balance” 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.