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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “given”

“given” is pronounced /ˈɡɪvən/ (GI-vuhn) in American English and /ɡɪvən/ in British English, and /ˈɡɪvɪn/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “giv”.
The sound

Say “given” in 2 beats

Say it like this

given

/ˈɡɪvən/

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

2 beats
  1. givɡɪstress
  2. envən
IPA (American)
/ˈɡɪvən/
IPA (British)
/ɡɪvən/
Also accepted
/ˈɡɪvɪn/
Respelling
GI-vuhn
Syllables
2 — GIV-en
Stress
Stress the first syllable: GIV-en. “giv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɡɪvən/

British

/ɡɪvən/

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

Meaning

What “given” means

  1. noun

    an assumption that is taken for granted

  2. verb

    cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

    “She gave him a black eye”

  3. verb

    be the cause or source of

    “He gave me a lot of trouble”

Say it in a sentence

“Given the weather, the picnic was moved indoors.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ɡgɪshort ivvəschwann

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“given”, answered

How do you pronounce “given”?

“given” is pronounced /ˈɡɪvən/ (GI-vuhn) in American English and /ɡɪvən/ in British English, and /ˈɡɪvɪn/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “giv”. Build it as GIV-en, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “given” have?

2: giv · en. The beat lands on the first, “giv”.

Is “given” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɡɪvən/ (GI-vuhn); British English says /ɡɪvən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “given” mean?

As a noun: an assumption that is taken for granted For example: “Given the weather, the picnic was moved indoors.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “given”?

Stress the first syllable: GIV-en. “giv” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “given” and see every sound

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