How to pronounce “enigma”
Say “enigma” in 3 beats
enigma
/ɪˈnɪɡmə/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɛnɪɡmə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- enɪ
- ignɪɡstress
- mamə
- IPA (American)
- /ɪˈnɪɡmə/
- IPA (British)
- /ɛnɪɡmə/
- Respelling
- i-NIG-muh
- Syllables
- 3 — en-IG-ma
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: en-IG-ma. “ig” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ɪˈnɪɡmə/
/ɛnɪɡmə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “enigma” means
- noun
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
“how it got out is a mystery”
- noun
a difficult problem
Say it in a sentence
“How the cat gets into the loft remains an enigma.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“enigma”, answered
How do you pronounce “enigma”?
“enigma” is pronounced /ɪˈnɪɡmə/ (i-NIG-muh) in American English and /ɛnɪɡmə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ig”. Build it as en-IG-ma, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “enigma” have?
3: en · ig · ma. The beat lands on the second, “ig”.
Is “enigma” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ɪˈnɪɡmə/ (i-NIG-muh); British English says /ɛnɪɡmə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “enigma” mean?
As a noun: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained For example: “how it got out is a mystery” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “enigma”?
Stress the second syllable: en-IG-ma. “ig” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “enigma” 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.