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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “opening”

“opening” is pronounced /ˈoʊpənɪŋ/ (OH-puh-ning) in American English and /əʊpənɪŋ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “op”.
The sound

Say “opening” in 3 beats

Say it like this

opening

/ˈoʊpənɪŋ/

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

3 beats
  1. opoʊstress
  2. enpə
  3. ingnɪŋ
IPA (American)
/ˈoʊpənɪŋ/
IPA (British)
/əʊpənɪŋ/
Respelling
OH-puh-ning
Syllables
3 — OP-en-ing
Stress
Stress the first syllable: OP-en-ing. “op” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb, adjective
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈoʊpənɪŋ/

British

/əʊpənɪŋ/

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

Meaning

What “opening” means

  1. noun

    an open or empty space in or between things

    “there was a small opening between the trees”

  2. noun

    a ceremony accompanying the start of some enterprise

  3. noun

    becoming open or being made open

    “the opening of his arms was the sign I was waiting for”

Say it in a sentence

“The bakery's opening drew a long line down the street.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
oʊlong oppəschwannɪshort iŋng

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“opening”, answered

How do you pronounce “opening”?

“opening” is pronounced /ˈoʊpənɪŋ/ (OH-puh-ning) in American English and /əʊpənɪŋ/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “op”. Build it as OP-en-ing, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “opening” have?

3: op · en · ing. The beat lands on the first, “op”.

Is “opening” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈoʊpənɪŋ/ (OH-puh-ning); British English says /əʊpənɪŋ/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “opening” mean?

As a noun: an open or empty space in or between things For example: “there was a small opening between the trees” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “opening”?

Stress the first syllable: OP-en-ing. “op” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “opening” and see every sound

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