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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “handsome”

“handsome” is pronounced /ˈhænsəm/ (HAN-suhm) in American English and /handsʌm/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “hæn”.
The sound

Say “handsome” in 2 beats

Say it like this

handsome

/ˈhænsəm/

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

2 beats
  1. hænhænstress
  2. səmsəm
IPA (American)
/ˈhænsəm/
IPA (British)
/handsʌm/
Respelling
HAN-suhm
Syllables
2 — HÆN-səm
Stress
Stress the first syllable: HÆN-səm. “hæn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈhænsəm/

British

/handsʌm/

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

Meaning

What “handsome” means

  1. adjective

    pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion; ; ; ; - Thackeray; - Lillian Hellman

    “a fine-looking woman”

  2. adjective

    given or giving freely

    “was a big tipper”

Say it in a sentence

“He was a handsome man in every photograph from that decade.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
hhæshort annssəschwamm

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

Questions

“handsome”, answered

How do you pronounce “handsome”?

“handsome” is pronounced /ˈhænsəm/ (HAN-suhm) in American English and /handsʌm/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “hæn”. Build it as HÆN-səm, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “handsome” have?

2: hæn · səm. The beat lands on the first, “hæn”.

Is “handsome” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈhænsəm/ (HAN-suhm); British English says /handsʌm/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “handsome” mean?

As an adjective: pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion; ; ; ; - Thackeray; - Lillian Hellman For example: “a fine-looking woman” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “handsome”?

Stress the first syllable: HÆN-səm. “hæn” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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