How to pronounce “business”
Say “business” in 2 beats
business
/ˈbɪznəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈbɪznɪs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- bɪzbɪzstress
- nəsnəs
- IPA (American)
- /ˈbɪznəs/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈbɪznɪs/
- Also accepted
- /ˈbɪznɪs/
- Respelling
- BIZ-nuhs
- Syllables
- 2 — BꞮZ-nəs
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: BꞮZ-nəs. “bɪz” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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
/ˈbɪznəs/
/ˈbɪznɪs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “business” goes wrong
- Often heard
“BIZ-ee-ness”
two syllables: the middle i disappears entirely
What “business” means
- noun
a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
“he bought his brother's business”
- noun
the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects
“computers are now widely used in business”
- noun
the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money
“he's not in my line of business”
Say it in a sentence
“He started a small business selling bread from his own kitchen.”“business”, answered
How do you pronounce “business”?
“business” is pronounced /ˈbɪznəs/ (BIZ-nuhs) in American English and /ˈbɪznɪs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “bɪz”. Build it as BꞮZ-nəs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “business” have?
2: bɪz · nəs. The beat lands on the first, “bɪz”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (BIZ-ee-ness), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.
Is “business” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈbɪznəs/ (BIZ-nuhs); British English says /ˈbɪznɪs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “business” mean?
As a noun: a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it For example: “he bought his brother's business” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “business”?
Stress the first syllable: BꞮZ-nəs. “bɪz” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “business” 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.