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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “commence”

“commence” is pronounced /kəˈmɛns/ (kuh-MENS) in American English and /kəmɛns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “mɛns”.
The sound

Say “commence” in 2 beats

Say it like this

commence

/kəˈmɛns/

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

2 beats
  1. kəkə
  2. mɛnsmɛnsstress
IPA (American)
/kəˈmɛns/
IPA (British)
/kəmɛns/
Respelling
kuh-MENS
Syllables
2 — kə-MƐNS
Stress
Stress the second syllable: kə-MƐNS. “mɛns” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kəˈmɛns/

British

/kəmɛns/

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

Meaning

What “commence” means

  1. verb

    take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

    “We began working at dawn”

  2. verb

    set in motion, cause to start

    “The U.S. started a war in the Middle East”

  3. verb

    get off the ground

    “Who started this company?”

Say it in a sentence

“Boarding will commence about twenty minutes before departure.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
kkəschwammɛshort ennss

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

Questions

“commence”, answered

How do you pronounce “commence”?

“commence” is pronounced /kəˈmɛns/ (kuh-MENS) in American English and /kəmɛns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “mɛns”. Build it as kə-MƐNS, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “commence” have?

2: kə · mɛns. The beat lands on the second, “mɛns”.

Is “commence” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kəˈmɛns/ (kuh-MENS); British English says /kəmɛns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “commence” mean?

As a verb: take the first step or steps in carrying out an action For example: “We began working at dawn” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “commence”?

Stress the second syllable: kə-MƐNS. “mɛns” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “commence” and see every sound

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