Pronunciation

How to pronounce “performance

“performance” is pronounced /pɚˈfɔɹməns/ (puh-FAWR-muhns) in American English and /pəfɔːməns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “fɔɹ”.
The sound

Say “performance” in 3 beats

Say it like this

performance

/pɚˈfɔɹməns/

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

3 beats
  1. fɔɹfɔɹstress
  2. mənsməns
IPA (American)
/pɚˈfɔɹməns/
IPA (British)
/pəfɔːməns/
Respelling
puh-FAWR-muhns
Syllables
3 — pɚ-FƆɹ-məns
Stress
Stress the second syllable: pɚ-FƆɹ-məns. “fɔɹ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɚˈfɔɹməns/

British

/pəfɔːməns/

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

Meaning

What “performance” means

  1. noun

    a dramatic or musical entertainment

    they listened to ten different performances

  2. noun

    the act of presenting a play or a piece of music or other entertainment

    we congratulated him on his performance at the rehearsal

  3. noun

    the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it

    they criticised his performance as mayor

Say it in a sentence

Her performance in the second half turned the match around.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 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

performance”, answered

How do you pronounce “performance”?

“performance” is pronounced /pɚˈfɔɹməns/ (puh-FAWR-muhns) in American English and /pəfɔːməns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “fɔɹ”. Build it as pɚ-FƆɹ-məns, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “performance” have?

3: pɚ · fɔɹ · məns. The beat lands on the second, “fɔɹ”.

Is “performance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɚˈfɔɹməns/ (puh-FAWR-muhns); British English says /pəfɔːməns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “performance” mean?

As a noun: a dramatic or musical entertainment For example: “they listened to ten different performances” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “performance”?

Stress the second syllable: pɚ-FƆɹ-məns. “fɔɹ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “performance” 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.