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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “pecan”

“pecan” is pronounced /pɪˈkɑn/ (pih-KAHN) in American English and /ˈpiːkan/ in British English, and /ˈpikæn/ and /ˈpiˌkɑn/ and /pɪˈkæn/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “an”.
The sound

Say “pecan” in 2 beats

Say it like this

pecan

/pɪˈkɑn/

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

2 beats
  1. pecpɪ
  2. ankɑnstress
IPA (American)
/pɪˈkɑn/
IPA (British)
/ˈpiːkan/
Also accepted
/ˈpikæn/
Also accepted
/ˈpiˌkɑn/
Also accepted
/pɪˈkæn/
Respelling
pih-KAHN
Syllables
2 — pec-AN
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pec-AN. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɪˈkɑn/

British

/ˈpiːkan/

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

Also accepted

/ˈpikæn/
Watch out

Where “pecan” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “PEE-can”

    both are used, but pih-KAHN is the more common American form

Meaning

What “pecan” means

  1. noun

    wood of a pecan tree

  2. noun

    tree of southern United States and Mexico cultivated for its nuts

  3. noun

    smooth brown oval nut of south central United States

Say it in a sentence

“She baked a pecan pie and carried it to the neighbours.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɪshort ikkɑahnn

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

Questions

“pecan”, answered

How do you pronounce “pecan”?

“pecan” is pronounced /pɪˈkɑn/ (pih-KAHN) in American English and /ˈpiːkan/ in British English, and /ˈpikæn/ and /ˈpiˌkɑn/ and /pɪˈkæn/ are also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “an”. Build it as pec-AN, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “pecan” have?

2: pec · an. The beat lands on the second, “an”.

Is “pecan” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɪˈkɑn/ (pih-KAHN); British English says /ˈpiːkan/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “pecan” mean?

As a noun: wood of a pecan tree For example: “She baked a pecan pie and carried it to the neighbours.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “pecan”?

Stress the second syllable: pec-AN. “an” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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