Pronunciation

How to pronounce “permission

“permission” is pronounced /pɚˈmɪʃən/ (puh-MI-shuhn) in American English and /pəmɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “mis”.
The sound

Say “permission” in 3 beats

Say it like this

permission

/pɚˈmɪʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. per
  2. misstress
  3. sionʃən
IPA (American)
/pɚˈmɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/pəmɪʃən/
Respelling
puh-MI-shuhn
Syllables
3 — per-MIS-sion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: per-MIS-sion. “mis” 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

/pɚˈmɪʃən/

British

/pəmɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “permission” means

  1. noun

    approval to do something

    he asked permission to leave

  2. noun

    the act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization

Say it in a sentence

You need written permission to record the lecture.
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

permission”, answered

How do you pronounce “permission”?

“permission” is pronounced /pɚˈmɪʃən/ (puh-MI-shuhn) in American English and /pəmɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “mis”. Build it as per-MIS-sion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “permission” have?

3: per · mis · sion. The beat lands on the second, “mis”.

Is “permission” said differently in British English?

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

What does “permission” mean?

As a noun: approval to do something For example: “he asked permission to leave” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “permission”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “permission” 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.