Pronunciation

How to pronounce “orient

“orient” is pronounced /ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/ (OR-ee-ent) in American English and /ˈɔːɹɪənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɔ”.
The sound

Say “orient” in 3 beats

Say it like this

orient

/ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/

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

3 beats
  1. ɔɔstress
  2. ɹiɹi
  3. ɛntɛnt
IPA (American)
/ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/
IPA (British)
/ˈɔːɹɪənt/
Respelling
OR-ee-ent
Syllables
3 — Ɔ-ɹi-ɛnt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: Ɔ-ɹi-ɛnt. “ɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/

British

/ˈɔːɹɪənt/

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

Watch out

Where “orient” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    or-ee-ENT

    the stress is on the first syllable in both the noun and the verb

Meaning

What “orient” means

  1. noun

    the countries of Asia

  2. noun

    the hemisphere that includes Eurasia and Africa and Australia

  3. verb

    be oriented

    The weather vane points North

Say it in a sentence

Take a minute to orient yourself before you set off.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 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

orient”, answered

How do you pronounce “orient”?

“orient” is pronounced /ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/ (OR-ee-ent) in American English and /ˈɔːɹɪənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “ɔ”. Build it as Ɔ-ɹi-ɛnt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “orient” have?

3: ɔ · ɹi · ɛnt. The beat lands on the first, “ɔ”.

Is “orient” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɔɹiˌɛnt/ (OR-ee-ent); British English says /ˈɔːɹɪənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “orient” mean?

As a noun: the countries of Asia For example: “Take a minute to orient yourself before you set off.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “orient”?

Stress the first syllable: Ɔ-ɹi-ɛnt. “ɔ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “orient” 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.