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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “phenomenon”

“phenomenon” is pronounced /fəˈnɑmənɑn/ (fuh-NOM-uh-non) in American English and /fɪˈnɒmɪnən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “om”.
The sound

Say “phenomenon” in 4 beats

Say it like this

phenomenon

/fəˈnɑmənɑn/

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

4 beats
  1. phenfə
  2. omnɑstress
  3. enmə
  4. onnɑn
IPA (American)
/fəˈnɑmənɑn/
IPA (British)
/fɪˈnɒmɪnən/
Respelling
fuh-NOM-uh-non
Syllables
4 — phen-OM-en-on
Stress
Stress the second syllable: phen-OM-en-on. “om” 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

/fəˈnɑmənɑn/

British

/fɪˈnɒmɪnən/

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

Watch out

Where “phenomenon” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    “fuh-NOM-uh-nuh”

    that is the plural phenomena; the singular ends in -non

Meaning

What “phenomenon” means

  1. noun

    any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning

  2. noun

    a remarkable development

Say it in a sentence

“The northern lights are a phenomenon people travel far to witness.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ffəschwa×2nn×3ɑah×2mm

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

Questions

“phenomenon”, answered

How do you pronounce “phenomenon”?

“phenomenon” is pronounced /fəˈnɑmənɑn/ (fuh-NOM-uh-non) in American English and /fɪˈnɒmɪnən/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “om”. Build it as phen-OM-en-on, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “phenomenon” have?

4: phen · om · en · on. The beat lands on the second, “om”.

Is “phenomenon” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /fəˈnɑmənɑn/ (fuh-NOM-uh-non); British English says /fɪˈnɒmɪnən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “phenomenon” mean?

As a noun: any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning For example: “The northern lights are a phenomenon people travel far to witness.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “phenomenon”?

Stress the second syllable: phen-OM-en-on. “om” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

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