Pronunciation

How to pronounce “ethnic

“ethnic” is pronounced /ˈɛθnɪk/ (ETH-nik) in American English and /ɛθnɪk/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “eth”.
The sound

Say “ethnic” in 2 beats

Say it like this

ethnic

/ˈɛθnɪk/

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

2 beats
  1. ethɛθstress
  2. nicnɪk
IPA (American)
/ˈɛθnɪk/
IPA (British)
/ɛθnɪk/
Respelling
ETH-nik
Syllables
2 — ETH-nic
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ETH-nic. “eth” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɛθnɪk/

British

/ɛθnɪk/

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

Meaning

What “ethnic” means

  1. noun

    a person who is a member of an ethnic group

  2. adjective

    denoting or deriving from or distinctive of the ways of living built up by a group of people; - J.F.Kennedy

    influenced by ethnic and cultural ties

  3. adjective

    not acknowledging the God of Christianity and Judaism and Islam

Say it in a sentence

The festival celebrates every ethnic group living in the town.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

ethnic”, answered

How do you pronounce “ethnic”?

“ethnic” is pronounced /ˈɛθnɪk/ (ETH-nik) in American English and /ɛθnɪk/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “eth”. Build it as ETH-nic, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “ethnic” have?

2: eth · nic. The beat lands on the first, “eth”.

Is “ethnic” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɛθnɪk/ (ETH-nik); British English says /ɛθnɪk/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “ethnic” mean?

As a noun: a person who is a member of an ethnic group For example: “The festival celebrates every ethnic group living in the town.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “ethnic”?

Stress the first syllable: ETH-nic. “eth” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “ethnic” 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.