How to pronounce “northern”
Say “northern” in 2 beats
northern
/ˈnɔɹðɚn/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /nɔːðən/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- nortnɔɹstress
- hernðɚn
- IPA (American)
- /ˈnɔɹðɚn/
- IPA (British)
- /nɔːðən/
- Respelling
- NAWR-dhuhn
- Syllables
- 2 — NORT-hern
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: NORT-hern. “nort” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈnɔɹðɚn/
/nɔːðən/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “northern” means
- noun
a dialect of Middle English that developed into Scottish Lallans
- adjective
in or characteristic of a region of the United States north of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
“Northern liberals”
- adjective
situated in or oriented toward the north
“the northern suburbs”
Say it in a sentence
“They spent the summer hiking in the northern mountains.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“northern”, answered
How do you pronounce “northern”?
“northern” is pronounced /ˈnɔɹðɚn/ (NAWR-dhuhn) in American English and /nɔːðən/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “nort”. Build it as NORT-hern, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “northern” have?
2: nort · hern. The beat lands on the first, “nort”.
Is “northern” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈnɔɹðɚn/ (NAWR-dhuhn); British English says /nɔːðən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “northern” mean?
As a noun: a dialect of Middle English that developed into Scottish Lallans For example: “They spent the summer hiking in the northern mountains.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “northern”?
Stress the first syllable: NORT-hern. “nort” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “northern” 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.