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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “orchestra”

“orchestra” is pronounced /ˈɔɹkəstɹə/ (AWR-kuh-struh) in American English and /ɔːkɪstɹə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “orc”.
The sound

Say “orchestra” in 3 beats

Say it like this

orchestra

/ˈɔɹkəstɹə/

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

3 beats
  1. orcɔɹstress
  2. hestkə
  3. rastɹə
IPA (American)
/ˈɔɹkəstɹə/
IPA (British)
/ɔːkɪstɹə/
Respelling
AWR-kuh-struh
Syllables
3 — ORC-hest-ra
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ORC-hest-ra. “orc” 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

/ˈɔɹkəstɹə/

British

/ɔːkɪstɹə/

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

Meaning

What “orchestra” means

  1. noun

    a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players

  2. noun

    seating on the main floor in a theater

Say it in a sentence

“The orchestra rehearses in the old church on Tuesday evenings.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ɔawɹr×2kkəschwa×2sstt

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

Questions

“orchestra”, answered

How do you pronounce “orchestra”?

“orchestra” is pronounced /ˈɔɹkəstɹə/ (AWR-kuh-struh) in American English and /ɔːkɪstɹə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “orc”. Build it as ORC-hest-ra, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “orchestra” have?

3: orc · hest · ra. The beat lands on the first, “orc”.

Is “orchestra” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɔɹkəstɹə/ (AWR-kuh-struh); British English says /ɔːkɪstɹə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “orchestra” mean?

As a noun: a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players For example: “The orchestra rehearses in the old church on Tuesday evenings.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “orchestra”?

Stress the first syllable: ORC-hest-ra. “orc” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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