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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “nominal”

“nominal” is pronounced /ˈnɑmənəl/ (NAH-muh-nuhl) in American English and /nɒmɪnəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “nom”.
The sound

Say “nominal” in 3 beats

Say it like this

nominal

/ˈnɑmənəl/

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

3 beats
  1. nomnɑstress
  2. inmə
  3. alnəl
IPA (American)
/ˈnɑmənəl/
IPA (British)
/nɒmɪnəl/
Respelling
NAH-muh-nuhl
Syllables
3 — NOM-in-al
Stress
Stress the first syllable: NOM-in-al. “nom” 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

/ˈnɑmənəl/

British

/nɒmɪnəl/

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

Meaning

What “nominal” means

  1. noun

    a phrase that can function as the subject or object of a verb

  2. adjective

    relating to or constituting or bearing or giving a name

    “the Russian system of nominal brevity”

  3. adjective

    insignificantly small; a matter of form only (`tokenish' is informal)

    “the fee was nominal”

Say it in a sentence

“The charge was nominal, barely enough to cover the postage.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
nn×2ɑahmməschwa×2ll

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

Questions

“nominal”, answered

How do you pronounce “nominal”?

“nominal” is pronounced /ˈnɑmənəl/ (NAH-muh-nuhl) in American English and /nɒmɪnəl/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “nom”. Build it as NOM-in-al, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “nominal” have?

3: nom · in · al. The beat lands on the first, “nom”.

Is “nominal” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈnɑmənəl/ (NAH-muh-nuhl); British English says /nɒmɪnəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “nominal” mean?

As a noun: a phrase that can function as the subject or object of a verb For example: “The charge was nominal, barely enough to cover the postage.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “nominal”?

Stress the first syllable: NOM-in-al. “nom” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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