Pronunciation

How to pronounce “contemporaneous

“contemporaneous” is pronounced /kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/ (kuhn-tem-puh-AY-nee-uhs) in American English and /kəntɛmpɔːɹeɪniəs/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “eɪ”.
The sound

Say “contemporaneous” in 6 beats

Say it like this

contemporaneous

/kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/

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

6 beats
  1. kənkən
  2. tɛmtɛm
  3. stress
  4. nini
  5. əsəs
IPA (American)
/kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/
IPA (British)
/kəntɛmpɔːɹeɪniəs/
Respelling
kuhn-tem-puh-AY-nee-uhs
Syllables
6 — kən-tɛm-pɚ-EꞮ-ni-əs
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: kən-tɛm-pɚ-EꞮ-ni-əs. “eɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/

British

/kəntɛmpɔːɹeɪniəs/

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

Meaning

What “contemporaneous” means

  1. adjective

    occurring in the same period of time

    a rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation

  2. adjective

    of the same period

Say it in a sentence

Two contemporaneous accounts describe the same storm.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

10 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

contemporaneous”, answered

How do you pronounce “contemporaneous”?

“contemporaneous” is pronounced /kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/ (kuhn-tem-puh-AY-nee-uhs) in American English and /kəntɛmpɔːɹeɪniəs/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “eɪ”. Build it as kən-tɛm-pɚ-EꞮ-ni-əs, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “contemporaneous” have?

6: kən · tɛm · pɚ · eɪ · ni · əs. The beat lands on the fourth, “eɪ”.

Is “contemporaneous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kənˌtɛmpɚˈeɪniəs/ (kuhn-tem-puh-AY-nee-uhs); British English says /kəntɛmpɔːɹeɪniəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “contemporaneous” mean?

As an adjective: occurring in the same period of time For example: “a rise in interest rates is often contemporaneous with an increase in inflation” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “contemporaneous”?

Stress the fourth syllable: kən-tɛm-pɚ-EꞮ-ni-əs. “eɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “contemporaneous” and see every sound

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