Pronunciation

How to pronounce “miniature

“miniature” is pronounced /ˈmɪniətʃɚ/ (MIN-ee-uh-chur) in American English and /ˈmɪnɪtʃə/ in British English, and /ˈmɪnɪtʃɚ/ and /ˈmɪnɪˌtʃʊɹ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “mɪ”.
The sound

Say “miniature” in 3 beats

Say it like this

miniature

/ˈmɪniətʃɚ/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. nɪənɪə
  3. tʃɚtʃɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈmɪniətʃɚ/
IPA (British)
/ˈmɪnɪtʃə/
Also accepted
/ˈmɪnɪtʃɚ/
Also accepted
/ˈmɪnɪˌtʃʊɹ/
Respelling
MIN-ee-uh-chur
Syllables
3 — MꞮ-nɪə-tʃɚ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: MꞮ-nɪə-tʃɚ. “mɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈmɪniətʃɚ/

British

/ˈmɪnɪtʃə/

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

Also accepted

/ˈmɪnɪtʃɚ/
Watch out

Where “miniature” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    MINI-ture

    there is an -ia- in the middle: MIN-ee-uh-chur, not mini plus ture

Meaning

What “miniature” means

  1. noun

    painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)

  2. noun

    a copy that reproduces a person or thing in greatly reduced size

  3. adjective

    being on a very small scale

    a miniature camera

Say it in a sentence

He builds miniature boats from matchsticks and thread.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

miniature”, answered

How do you pronounce “miniature”?

“miniature” is pronounced /ˈmɪniətʃɚ/ (MIN-ee-uh-chur) in American English and /ˈmɪnɪtʃə/ in British English, and /ˈmɪnɪtʃɚ/ and /ˈmɪnɪˌtʃʊɹ/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “mɪ”. Build it as MꞮ-nɪə-tʃɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “miniature” have?

3: mɪ · nɪə · tʃɚ. The beat lands on the first, “mɪ”.

Is “miniature” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈmɪniətʃɚ/ (MIN-ee-uh-chur); British English says /ˈmɪnɪtʃə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “miniature” mean?

As a noun: painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts) For example: “He builds miniature boats from matchsticks and thread.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “miniature”?

Stress the first syllable: MꞮ-nɪə-tʃɚ. “mɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “miniature” 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.