Pronunciation

How to pronounce “conservation

“conservation” is pronounced /ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/ (kahn-suh-VAY-shuhn) in American English and /kɒnsəveɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vat”.
The sound

Say “conservation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

conservation

/ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. conkɑn
  2. ser
  3. vatveɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/kɒnsəveɪʃən/
Respelling
kahn-suh-VAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — con-ser-VAT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: con-ser-VAT-ion. “vat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/

British

/kɒnsəveɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “conservation” means

  1. noun

    an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change

  2. noun

    the preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources

  3. noun

    (physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations

Say it in a sentence

Conservation work on the chapel will take another two years.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

conservation”, answered

How do you pronounce “conservation”?

“conservation” is pronounced /ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/ (kahn-suh-VAY-shuhn) in American English and /kɒnsəveɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “vat”. Build it as con-ser-VAT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “conservation” have?

4: con · ser · vat · ion. The beat lands on the third, “vat”.

Is “conservation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌkɑnsɚˈveɪʃən/ (kahn-suh-VAY-shuhn); British English says /kɒnsəveɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “conservation” mean?

As a noun: an occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change For example: “Conservation work on the chapel will take another two years.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “conservation”?

Stress the third syllable: con-ser-VAT-ion. “vat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “conservation” 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.