Pronunciation

How to pronounce “occupation

“occupation” is pronounced /ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/ (ah-kyuh-PAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɒkjʊpeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “occupation” in 4 beats

Say it like this

occupation

/ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/

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

4 beats
  1. ocɑ
  2. cupkjə
  3. atpeɪstress
  4. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/ɒkjʊpeɪʃən/
Respelling
ah-kyuh-PAY-shuhn
Syllables
4 — oc-cup-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the third syllable: oc-cup-AT-ion. “at” 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

/ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/

British

/ɒkjʊpeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “occupation” means

  1. noun

    the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money

    he's not in my line of business

  2. noun

    the control of a country by military forces of a foreign power

  3. noun

    any activity that occupies a person's attention

    he missed the bell in his occupation with the computer game

Say it in a sentence

He listed his occupation as carpenter on the form.
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

occupation”, answered

How do you pronounce “occupation”?

“occupation” is pronounced /ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/ (ah-kyuh-PAY-shuhn) in American English and /ɒkjʊpeɪʃən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as oc-cup-AT-ion, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “occupation” have?

4: oc · cup · at · ion. The beat lands on the third, “at”.

Is “occupation” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/ (ah-kyuh-PAY-shuhn); British English says /ɒkjʊpeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “occupation” mean?

As a noun: the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money For example: “he's not in my line of business” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “occupation”?

Stress the third syllable: oc-cup-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “occupation” 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.