Pronunciation

How to pronounce “immigration

“immigration” is pronounced /ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/ (i-muh-GRAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɪmɪɡɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”.
The sound

Say “immigration” in 4 beats

Say it like this

immigration

/ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. imɪ
  2. mig
  3. ratɡɹeɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ɪmɪɡɹeɪʃən/
Respelling
i-muh-GRAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — im-mig-RAT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: im-mig-RAT-ion. “rat” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/

British

/ɪmɪɡɹeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “immigration” means

  1. noun

    migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there)

  2. noun

    the body of immigrants arriving during a specified interval

    the increased immigration strengthened the colony

Say it in a sentence

Immigration rules changed twice in the space of one year.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

immigration”, answered

How do you pronounce “immigration”?

“immigration” is pronounced /ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/ (i-muh-GRAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɪmɪɡɹeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “rat”. Build it as im-mig-RAT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “immigration” have?

4: im · mig · rat · ion. The beat lands on the third, “rat”.

Is “immigration” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɪməˈɡɹeɪʃən/ (i-muh-GRAY-shuhn); British English says /ɪmɪɡɹeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “immigration” mean?

As a noun: migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there) For example: “Immigration rules changed twice in the space of one year.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “immigration”?

Stress the third syllable: im-mig-RAT-ion. “rat” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “immigration” and see every sound

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