Pronunciation

How to pronounce “onerous

“onerous” is pronounced /ˈoʊnɚəs/ (OH-nuh-uhs) in American English and /əʊnəɹəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “on”.
The sound

Say “onerous” in 3 beats

Say it like this

onerous

/ˈoʊnɚəs/

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

3 beats
  1. onstress
  2. er
  3. ousəs
IPA (American)
/ˈoʊnɚəs/
IPA (British)
/əʊnəɹəs/
Respelling
OH-nuh-uhs
Syllables
3 — ON-er-ous
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ON-er-ous. “on” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈoʊnɚəs/

British

/əʊnəɹəs/

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

Meaning

What “onerous” means

  1. adjective

    not easily borne; wearing

    the burdensome task of preparing the income tax return

Say it in a sentence

Keeping the accounts was the most onerous part of the job.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 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

onerous”, answered

How do you pronounce “onerous”?

“onerous” is pronounced /ˈoʊnɚəs/ (OH-nuh-uhs) in American English and /əʊnəɹəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “on”. Build it as ON-er-ous, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “onerous” have?

3: on · er · ous. The beat lands on the first, “on”.

Is “onerous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈoʊnɚəs/ (OH-nuh-uhs); British English says /əʊnəɹəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “onerous” mean?

As an adjective: not easily borne; wearing For example: “the burdensome task of preparing the income tax return”

Where is the stress in “onerous”?

Stress the first syllable: ON-er-ous. “on” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “onerous” 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.