How to pronounce “pneumonia”
Say “pneumonia” in 3 beats
pneumonia
/nuˈmoʊnjə/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /njuːˈməʊnɪə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- pneumnu
- onmoʊstress
- ianjə
- IPA (American)
- /nuˈmoʊnjə/
- IPA (British)
- /njuːˈməʊnɪə/
- Also accepted
- /nəˈmoʊnjə/
- Respelling
- noo-MOHN-yuh
- Syllables
- 3 — pneum-ON-ia
- Stress
- Stress the second syllable: pneum-ON-ia. “on” 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
American and British are not the same here
/nuˈmoʊnjə/
/njuːˈməʊnɪə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “pneumonia” goes wrong
- Often heard
“puh-NOO-monia”
the p is silent: noo-MOHN-yuh
What “pneumonia” means
- noun
respiratory disease characterized by inflammation of the lung parenchyma (excluding the bronchi) with congestion caused by viruses or bacteria or irritants
Say it in a sentence
“He caught pneumonia that winter and missed most of the term.”“pneumonia”, answered
How do you pronounce “pneumonia”?
“pneumonia” is pronounced /nuˈmoʊnjə/ (noo-MOHN-yuh) in American English and /njuːˈməʊnɪə/ in British English, and /nəˈmoʊnjə/ is also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “on”. Build it as pneum-ON-ia, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “pneumonia” have?
3: pneum · on · ia. The beat lands on the second, “on”.
Is “pneumonia” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /nuˈmoʊnjə/ (noo-MOHN-yuh); British English says /njuːˈməʊnɪə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “pneumonia” mean?
As a noun: respiratory disease characterized by inflammation of the lung parenchyma (excluding the bronchi) with congestion caused by viruses or bacteria or irritants For example: “He caught pneumonia that winter and missed most of the term.”
Where is the stress in “pneumonia”?
Stress the second syllable: pneum-ON-ia. “on” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “pneumonia” 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.