Pronunciation

How to pronounce “onion

“onion” is pronounced /ˈʌnjən/ (UN-yuhn) — 2 syllables, stressed on “on”.
The sound

Say “onion” in 2 beats

Say it like this

onion

/ˈʌnjən/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. onʌstress
  2. ionnjən
IPA (American)
/ˈʌnjən/
IPA (British)
/ˈʌnjən/
Respelling
UN-yuhn
Syllables
2 — ON-ion
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ON-ion. “on” 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
Watch out

Where “onion” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    OH-nee-on

    the first vowel is the u of cup and the -ion is yuhn

Meaning

What “onion” means

  1. noun

    the bulb of an onion plant

  2. noun

    bulbous plant having hollow leaves cultivated worldwide for its rounded edible bulb

  3. noun

    an aromatic flavorful vegetable

Say it in a sentence

One onion is enough for a pot this size.
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

onion”, answered

How do you pronounce “onion”?

“onion” is pronounced /ˈʌnjən/ (UN-yuhn) — 2 syllables, stressed on “on”. Build it as ON-ion, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “onion” have?

2: on · ion. The beat lands on the first, “on”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (OH-nee-on), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.

What does “onion” mean?

As a noun: the bulb of an onion plant For example: “One onion is enough for a pot this size.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “onion”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “onion” 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.