How to pronounce “impecunious”
Say “impecunious” in 4 beats
impecunious
/ˌɪmpɪˈkjuniəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuːniəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- imɪm
- pecpɪ
- unkjustress
- iousnɪəs
- IPA (American)
- /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuniəs/
- IPA (British)
- /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuːniəs/
- Respelling
- im-pih-KYOO-nee-uhs
- Syllables
- 4 — im-pec-UN-ious
- Stress
- Stress the third syllable: im-pec-UN-ious. “un” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/ˌɪmpɪˈkjuniəs/
/ˌɪmpɪˈkjuːniəs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “impecunious” goes wrong
- Often heard
“im-PEK-yoo-nee-us”
the stress is on KYOO, the third syllable
What “impecunious” means
- adjective
not having enough money to pay for necessities
Say it in a sentence
“An impecunious student, he lived on bread and library books.”“impecunious”, answered
How do you pronounce “impecunious”?
“impecunious” is pronounced /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuniəs/ (im-pih-KYOO-nee-uhs) in American English and /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuːniəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “un”. Build it as im-pec-UN-ious, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “impecunious” have?
4: im · pec · un · ious. The beat lands on the third, “un”. Read letter by letter it looks like 5 (im-PEK-yoo-nee-us), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 4.
Is “impecunious” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuniəs/ (im-pih-KYOO-nee-uhs); British English says /ˌɪmpɪˈkjuːniəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “impecunious” mean?
As an adjective: not having enough money to pay for necessities For example: “An impecunious student, he lived on bread and library books.”
Where is the stress in “impecunious”?
Stress the third syllable: im-pec-UN-ious. “un” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “impecunious” 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.