sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “nuance”

“nuance” is pronounced /ˈnuɑns/ (NOO-ahns) in American English and /njuːəns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “nuan”.
The sound

Say “nuance” in 2 beats

Say it like this

nuance

/ˈnuɑns/

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

2 beats
  1. nuannustress
  2. ceɑns
IPA (American)
/ˈnuɑns/
IPA (British)
/njuːəns/
Respelling
NOO-ahns
Syllables
2 — NUAN-ce
Stress
Stress the first syllable: NUAN-ce. “nuan” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ˈnuɑns/

British

/njuːəns/

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

Meaning

What “nuance” means

  1. noun

    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude

    “without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor”

Say it in a sentence

“Every nuance of his tone told us he disagreed.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 sounds, in the order you say them
nn×2ulong ooɑahss

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

Questions

“nuance”, answered

How do you pronounce “nuance”?

“nuance” is pronounced /ˈnuɑns/ (NOO-ahns) in American English and /njuːəns/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “nuan”. Build it as NUAN-ce, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “nuance” have?

2: nuan · ce. The beat lands on the first, “nuan”.

Is “nuance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈnuɑns/ (NOO-ahns); British English says /njuːəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “nuance” mean?

As a noun: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude For example: “without understanding the finer nuances you can't enjoy the humor”

Where is the stress in “nuance”?

Stress the first syllable: NUAN-ce. “nuan” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “nuance” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with N