Pronunciation

How to pronounce “century

“century” is pronounced /ˈsɛntʃɚi/ (SEN-chuh-ee) in American English and /sɛntʃəɹi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cen”.
The sound

Say “century” in 3 beats

Say it like this

century

/ˈsɛntʃɚi/

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

3 beats
  1. censɛnstress
  2. turtʃɚ
  3. yi
IPA (American)
/ˈsɛntʃɚi/
IPA (British)
/sɛntʃəɹi/
Respelling
SEN-chuh-ee
Syllables
3 — CEN-tur-y
Stress
Stress the first syllable: CEN-tur-y. “cen” 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

/ˈsɛntʃɚi/

British

/sɛntʃəɹi/

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

Meaning

What “century” means

  1. noun

    a period of 100 years

  2. noun

    ten 10s

Say it in a sentence

The bridge has stood for more than a century.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

century”, answered

How do you pronounce “century”?

“century” is pronounced /ˈsɛntʃɚi/ (SEN-chuh-ee) in American English and /sɛntʃəɹi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cen”. Build it as CEN-tur-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “century” have?

3: cen · tur · y. The beat lands on the first, “cen”.

Is “century” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɛntʃɚi/ (SEN-chuh-ee); British English says /sɛntʃəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “century” mean?

As a noun: a period of 100 years For example: “The bridge has stood for more than a century.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “century”?

Stress the first syllable: CEN-tur-y. “cen” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “century” 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.