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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “lieutenant”

“lieutenant” is pronounced /luˈtɛnənt/ (loo-TE-nuhnt) in American English and /lɛftɛnənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “en”.
The sound

Say “lieutenant” in 3 beats

Say it like this

lieutenant

/luˈtɛnənt/

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

3 beats
  1. lieutlu
  2. entɛstress
  3. antnənt
IPA (American)
/luˈtɛnənt/
IPA (British)
/lɛftɛnənt/
Respelling
loo-TE-nuhnt
Syllables
3 — lieut-EN-ant
Stress
Stress the second syllable: lieut-EN-ant. “en” 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

/luˈtɛnənt/

British

/lɛftɛnənt/

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

Meaning

What “lieutenant” means

  1. noun

    a commissioned military officer

  2. noun

    an officer in a police force

  3. noun

    an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent

Say it in a sentence

“The lieutenant read out the orders and then answered questions.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
llulong oott×2ɛshort enn×2əschwa

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

Questions

“lieutenant”, answered

How do you pronounce “lieutenant”?

“lieutenant” is pronounced /luˈtɛnənt/ (loo-TE-nuhnt) in American English and /lɛftɛnənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “en”. Build it as lieut-EN-ant, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “lieutenant” have?

3: lieut · en · ant. The beat lands on the second, “en”.

Is “lieutenant” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /luˈtɛnənt/ (loo-TE-nuhnt); British English says /lɛftɛnənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “lieutenant” mean?

As a noun: a commissioned military officer For example: “The lieutenant read out the orders and then answered questions.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “lieutenant”?

Stress the second syllable: lieut-EN-ant. “en” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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