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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “broken”

“broken” is pronounced /ˈbɹoʊkən/ (BROH-kuhn) in American English and /bɹəʊkən/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “brok”.
The sound

Say “broken” in 2 beats

Say it like this

broken

/ˈbɹoʊkən/

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

2 beats
  1. brokbɹoʊstress
  2. enkən
IPA (American)
/ˈbɹoʊkən/
IPA (British)
/bɹəʊkən/
Respelling
BROH-kuhn
Syllables
2 — BROK-en
Stress
Stress the first syllable: BROK-en. “brok” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈbɹoʊkən/

British

/bɹəʊkən/

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

Meaning

What “broken” means

  1. verb

    terminate

    “She interrupted her pregnancy”

  2. verb

    become separated into pieces or fragments

    “The figurine broke”

  3. verb

    render inoperable or ineffective

    “You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”

Say it in a sentence

“The old fence had been broken since last winter's storm.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
bbɹroʊlong okkəschwann

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

Questions

“broken”, answered

How do you pronounce “broken”?

“broken” is pronounced /ˈbɹoʊkən/ (BROH-kuhn) in American English and /bɹəʊkən/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “brok”. Build it as BROK-en, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “broken” have?

2: brok · en. The beat lands on the first, “brok”.

Is “broken” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈbɹoʊkən/ (BROH-kuhn); British English says /bɹəʊkən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “broken” mean?

As a verb: terminate For example: “She interrupted her pregnancy” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “broken”?

Stress the first syllable: BROK-en. “brok” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “broken” and see every sound

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