How to pronounce “contemporary”
Say “contemporary” in 5 beats
contemporary
/kənˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kəntɛmpəɹəɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- conkən
- temtɛmstress
- porpɚ
- arɛ
- yɹi
- IPA (American)
- /kənˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /kəntɛmpəɹəɹi/
- Respelling
- kuhn-TEM-puh-e-ree
- Syllables
- 5 — con-TEM-por-ar-y
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: con-TEM-por-ar-y. “tem” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/kənˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
/kəntɛmpəɹəɹi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “contemporary” means
- noun
a person of nearly the same age as another
- adjective
characteristic of the present
“contemporary trends in design”
- adjective
belonging to the present time
“contemporary leaders”
Say it in a sentence
“She was a contemporary of my grandmother at the same school.”“contemporary”, answered
How do you pronounce “contemporary”?
“contemporary” is pronounced /kənˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/ (kuhn-TEM-puh-e-ree) in American English and /kəntɛmpəɹəɹi/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “tem”. Build it as con-TEM-por-ar-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “contemporary” have?
5: con · tem · por · ar · y. The beat lands on the second, “tem”.
Is “contemporary” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /kənˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/ (kuhn-TEM-puh-e-ree); British English says /kəntɛmpəɹəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “contemporary” mean?
As a noun: a person of nearly the same age as another For example: “She was a contemporary of my grandmother at the same school.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “contemporary”?
Stress the second syllable: con-TEM-por-ar-y. “tem” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “contemporary” 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.