How to pronounce “discerning”
Say “discerning” in 3 beats
discerning
/dɪˈsɝnɪŋ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪsɜːnɪŋ/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- disdɪ
- cersɝstress
- ningnɪŋ
- IPA (American)
- /dɪˈsɝnɪŋ/
- IPA (British)
- /dɪsɜːnɪŋ/
- Respelling
- di-SUR-ning
- Syllables
- 3 — dis-CER-ning
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: dis-CER-ning. “cer” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/dɪˈsɝnɪŋ/
/dɪsɜːnɪŋ/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “discerning” means
- verb
detect with the senses
“The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards”
- adjective
having or revealing keen insight and good judgment
“a discerning critic”
- adjective
unobtrusively perceptive and sympathetic
“a discerning editor”
Say it in a sentence
“A discerning shopper would have noticed the missing button.”“discerning”, answered
How do you pronounce “discerning”?
“discerning” is pronounced /dɪˈsɝnɪŋ/ (di-SUR-ning) in American English and /dɪsɜːnɪŋ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cer”. Build it as dis-CER-ning, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “discerning” have?
3: dis · cer · ning. The beat lands on the second, “cer”.
Is “discerning” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /dɪˈsɝnɪŋ/ (di-SUR-ning); British English says /dɪsɜːnɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “discerning” mean?
As a verb: detect with the senses For example: “The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “discerning”?
Stress the second syllable: dis-CER-ning. “cer” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “discerning” 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.