How to pronounce “compound”
“compound” is said two ways
/ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
KAHM-pownd
A mixture, or a walled enclosure. Beat on KAHM — the adjective, a compound word, is the same.
/kəmˈpaʊnd/
kuhm-POWND
To make worse, or to combine. Beat on POWND.
Listen for the beat, not the letters
One syllable gets longer, louder and a step higher, and the other one collapses towards a schwa. Say the whole sentence rather than the word on its own and let the grammar pull the beat where it belongs.Both forms live in one sentence here: “Delays only compound the problem inside the compound.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “compound” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the noun and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “compound” in 2 beats
compound
/ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
Everything in this card describes the noun form. As a verb it is /kəmˈpaʊnd/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- comkɑmstress
- poundpaʊnd
- IPA (American)
- /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/
- Respelling
- KAHM-pownd (noun) · kuhm-POWND (verb)
- Syllables
- 2 — COM-pound
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: COM-pound. “com” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the noun form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
/ˈkɒmpaʊnd/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “compound” goes wrong
- Often heard
“KAHM-pownd the problem”
making it worse is kuhm-POWND; KAHM-pownd is the mixture
What “compound” means
- noun
a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts
- noun
(chemistry) a substance formed by chemical union of two or more elements or ingredients in definite proportion by weight
- noun
an enclosure of residences and other building (especially in the Orient)
Say it in a sentence
“Delays only compound the problem inside the compound.”“compound”, answered
How do you pronounce “compound”?
“compound” has two pronunciations: /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/ as a noun and /kəmˈpaʊnd/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the beat does, and the vowels reshape around wherever it lands. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the noun form. Build it as COM-pound, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “compound” have?
2: com · pound. The beat lands on the first, “com”.
Which pronunciation of “compound” is correct?
Both are. /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/ (KAHM-pownd) as a noun; /kəmˈpaʊnd/ (kuhm-POWND) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does. Move the beat and the word changes its job mid-sentence, which is why both are worth drilling. Both appear here: “Delays only compound the problem inside the compound.”
Is “compound” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/ (KAHM-pownd); British English says /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “compound” mean?
As a noun: a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts For example: “Delays only compound the problem inside the compound.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “compound”?
Stress the first syllable: COM-pound. “com” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “compound” 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.