Pronunciation

How to pronounce “minority

“minority” is pronounced /maɪˈnɔɹəti/ (my-NAW-ruh-tee) in American English and /maɪnɒɹɪti/ in British English, and /məˈnɔɹəti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “or”.
The sound

Say “minority” in 4 beats

Say it like this

minority

/maɪˈnɔɹəti/

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

4 beats
  1. minmaɪ
  2. orstress
  3. itɹə
  4. yti
IPA (American)
/maɪˈnɔɹəti/
IPA (British)
/maɪnɒɹɪti/
Also accepted
/məˈnɔɹəti/
Respelling
my-NAW-ruh-tee
Syllables
4 — min-OR-it-y
Stress
Stress the second syllable: min-OR-it-y. “or” 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

/maɪˈnɔɹəti/

British

/maɪnɒɹɪti/

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

Meaning

What “minority” means

  1. noun

    a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part

  2. noun

    being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts

    when the vote was taken they were in the minority

  3. noun

    any age prior to the legal age

Say it in a sentence

A small minority still walk to school every single day.
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

minority”, answered

How do you pronounce “minority”?

“minority” is pronounced /maɪˈnɔɹəti/ (my-NAW-ruh-tee) in American English and /maɪnɒɹɪti/ in British English, and /məˈnɔɹəti/ is also accepted — 4 syllables, stressed on “or”. Build it as min-OR-it-y, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “minority” have?

4: min · or · it · y. The beat lands on the second, “or”.

Is “minority” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /maɪˈnɔɹəti/ (my-NAW-ruh-tee); British English says /maɪnɒɹɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “minority” mean?

As a noun: a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part For example: “A small minority still walk to school every single day.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “minority”?

Stress the second syllable: min-OR-it-y. “or” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “minority” 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.