Pronunciation

How to pronounce “occupancy

“occupancy” is pronounced /ˈɑkjəpənsi/ (AH-kyuh-puhn-see) in American English and /ɒkjʊpənsi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “oc”.
The sound

Say “occupancy” in 4 beats

Say it like this

occupancy

/ˈɑkjəpənsi/

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

4 beats
  1. ocɑstress
  2. cupkjə
  3. anpən
  4. cysi
IPA (American)
/ˈɑkjəpənsi/
IPA (British)
/ɒkjʊpənsi/
Respelling
AH-kyuh-puhn-see
Syllables
4 — OC-cup-an-cy
Stress
Stress the first syllable: OC-cup-an-cy. “oc” 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

/ˈɑkjəpənsi/

British

/ɒkjʊpənsi/

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

Meaning

What “occupancy” means

  1. noun

    an act of being a tenant or occupant

  2. noun

    the act of occupying or taking possession of a building

    occupation of a building without a certificate of occupancy is illegal

Say it in a sentence

Occupancy of the flat begins on the first of June.
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

occupancy”, answered

How do you pronounce “occupancy”?

“occupancy” is pronounced /ˈɑkjəpənsi/ (AH-kyuh-puhn-see) in American English and /ɒkjʊpənsi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “oc”. Build it as OC-cup-an-cy, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “occupancy” have?

4: oc · cup · an · cy. The beat lands on the first, “oc”.

Is “occupancy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɑkjəpənsi/ (AH-kyuh-puhn-see); British English says /ɒkjʊpənsi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “occupancy” mean?

As a noun: an act of being a tenant or occupant For example: “Occupancy of the flat begins on the first of June.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “occupancy”?

Stress the first syllable: OC-cup-an-cy. “oc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “occupancy” 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.