How to pronounce “onomatopoeia”
Say “onomatopoeia” in 5 beats
onomatopoeia
/ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiə/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˌɒnəˌmatəˈpiːə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- onɑ
- omnə
- atmæ
- optə
- oeiapɪəstress
- IPA (American)
- /ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiə/
- IPA (British)
- /ˌɒnəˌmatəˈpiːə/
- Respelling
- on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh
- Syllables
- 5 — on-om-at-op-OEIA
- Stress
- Stress the fifth syllable: on-om-at-op-OEIA. “oeia” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Legend — spelling and sound part company here
American and British are not the same here
/ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiə/
/ˌɒnəˌmatəˈpiːə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “onomatopoeia” goes wrong
- Often heard
“on-uh-mat-oh-POH-ee-uh”
the -poeia ending is simply PEE-uh, two syllables
What “onomatopoeia” means
- noun
using words that imitate the sound they denote
Say it in a sentence
“Words like buzz and hiss are examples of onomatopoeia.”“onomatopoeia”, answered
How do you pronounce “onomatopoeia”?
“onomatopoeia” is pronounced /ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiə/ (on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh) in American English and /ˌɒnəˌmatəˈpiːə/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “oeia”. Build it as on-om-at-op-OEIA, then run the fifth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “onomatopoeia” have?
5: on · om · at · op · oeia. The beat lands on the fifth, “oeia”. Read letter by letter it looks like 7 (on-uh-mat-oh-POH-ee-uh), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 5.
Is “onomatopoeia” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˌɑnəˌmætəˈpiə/ (on-uh-mat-uh-PEE-uh); British English says /ˌɒnəˌmatəˈpiːə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “onomatopoeia” mean?
As a noun: using words that imitate the sound they denote For example: “Words like buzz and hiss are examples of onomatopoeia.”
Where is the stress in “onomatopoeia”?
Stress the fifth syllable: on-om-at-op-OEIA. “oeia” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “onomatopoeia” 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.