How to pronounce “percent”
Say “percent” in 2 beats
percent
/pɚˈsɛnt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pəsɛnt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- perpɚ
- centsɛntstress
- IPA (American)
- /pɚˈsɛnt/
- IPA (British)
- /pəsɛnt/
- Respelling
- puh-SENT
- Syllables
- 2 — per-CENT
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: per-CENT. “cent” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/pɚˈsɛnt/
/pəsɛnt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “percent” means
- noun
a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred)
Say it in a sentence
“About forty percent of the seats were empty on Tuesday.”“percent”, answered
How do you pronounce “percent”?
“percent” is pronounced /pɚˈsɛnt/ (puh-SENT) in American English and /pəsɛnt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “cent”. Build it as per-CENT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “percent” have?
2: per · cent. The beat lands on the second, “cent”.
Is “percent” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /pɚˈsɛnt/ (puh-SENT); British English says /pəsɛnt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “percent” mean?
As a noun: a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred) For example: “About forty percent of the seats were empty on Tuesday.”
Where is the stress in “percent”?
Stress the second syllable: per-CENT. “cent” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “percent” 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.