Pronunciation

How to pronounce “generation

“generation” is pronounced /ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/ (je-nuh-AY-shuhn) in American English and /dʒɛnəɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “generation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

generation

/ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. gendʒɛ
  2. er
  3. atstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/dʒɛnəɹeɪʃən/
Respelling
je-nuh-AY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — gen-er-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: gen-er-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/

British

/dʒɛnəɹeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “generation” means

  1. noun

    all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age

  2. noun

    group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent

  3. noun

    the normal time between successive generations

    they had to wait a generation for that prejudice to fade

Say it in a sentence

Her generation grew up without mobile phones or home computers.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

generation”, answered

How do you pronounce “generation”?

“generation” is pronounced /ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/ (je-nuh-AY-shuhn) in American English and /dʒɛnəɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as gen-er-AT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “generation” have?

4: gen · er · at · ion. The beat lands on the third, “at”.

Is “generation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌdʒɛnɚˈeɪʃən/ (je-nuh-AY-shuhn); British English says /dʒɛnəɹeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “generation” mean?

As a noun: all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age For example: “Her generation grew up without mobile phones or home computers.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “generation”?

Stress the third syllable: gen-er-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “generation” 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.