Pronunciation

How to pronounce “perception

“perception” is pronounced /pɚˈsɛpʃən/ (puh-SEP-shuhn) in American English and /pəsɛpʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cep”.
The sound

Say “perception” in 3 beats

Say it like this

perception

/pɚˈsɛpʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. per
  2. cepsɛpstress
  3. tionʃən
IPA (American)
/pɚˈsɛpʃən/
IPA (British)
/pəsɛpʃən/
Respelling
puh-SEP-shuhn
Syllables
3 — per-CEP-tion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: per-CEP-tion. “cep” 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

/pɚˈsɛpʃən/

British

/pəsɛpʃən/

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

Meaning

What “perception” means

  1. noun

    the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept

  2. noun

    a way of conceiving something

    Luther had a new perception of the Bible

  3. noun

    the process of perceiving

Say it in a sentence

His perception of the village changed after one long winter.
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

perception”, answered

How do you pronounce “perception”?

“perception” is pronounced /pɚˈsɛpʃən/ (puh-SEP-shuhn) in American English and /pəsɛpʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “cep”. Build it as per-CEP-tion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “perception” have?

3: per · cep · tion. The beat lands on the second, “cep”.

Is “perception” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɚˈsɛpʃən/ (puh-SEP-shuhn); British English says /pəsɛpʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “perception” mean?

As a noun: the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept For example: “His perception of the village changed after one long winter.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “perception”?

Stress the second syllable: per-CEP-tion. “cep” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “perception” 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.