Pronunciation

How to pronounce “physiotherapy

“physiotherapy” is pronounced /ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/ (fiz-ee-oh-THERR-uh-pee) in American English and /ˌfɪziəʊˈθɛɹəpi/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “oʊ”.
The sound

Say “physiotherapy” in 6 beats

Say it like this

physiotherapy

/ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/

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

6 beats
  1. zizi
  2. stress
  3. θɛθɛ
  4. ɹəɹə
  5. pipi
IPA (American)
/ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/
IPA (British)
/ˌfɪziəʊˈθɛɹəpi/
Respelling
fiz-ee-oh-THERR-uh-pee
Syllables
6 — fɪ-zi-OƱ-θɛ-ɹə-pi
Stress
Stress the third syllable: fɪ-zi-OƱ-θɛ-ɹə-pi. “oʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/

British

/ˌfɪziəʊˈθɛɹəpi/

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

Watch out

Where “physiotherapy” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    fiz-ee-OTH-uh-ruh-pee

    the stress is on THERR: fiz-ee-oh-THERR-uh-pee

Meaning

What “physiotherapy” means

  1. noun

    therapy that uses physical agents: exercise and massage and other modalities

Say it in a sentence

Six weeks of physiotherapy got him back on the bike.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

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

Questions

physiotherapy”, answered

How do you pronounce “physiotherapy”?

“physiotherapy” is pronounced /ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/ (fiz-ee-oh-THERR-uh-pee) in American English and /ˌfɪziəʊˈθɛɹəpi/ in British English — 6 syllables, stressed on “oʊ”. Build it as fɪ-zi-OƱ-θɛ-ɹə-pi, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “physiotherapy” have?

6: fɪ · zi · oʊ · θɛ · ɹə · pi. The beat lands on the third, “oʊ”.

Is “physiotherapy” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌfɪzioʊˈθɛɹəpi/ (fiz-ee-oh-THERR-uh-pee); British English says /ˌfɪziəʊˈθɛɹəpi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “physiotherapy” mean?

As a noun: therapy that uses physical agents: exercise and massage and other modalities For example: “Six weeks of physiotherapy got him back on the bike.”

Where is the stress in “physiotherapy”?

Stress the third syllable: fɪ-zi-OƱ-θɛ-ɹə-pi. “oʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “physiotherapy” 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.