How to pronounce “primary”
Say “primary” in 3 beats
primary
/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pɹaɪməɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- primpɹaɪstress
- armɛ
- yɹi
- IPA (American)
- /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /pɹaɪməɹi/
- Respelling
- PRY-me-ree
- Syllables
- 3 — PRIM-ar-y
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: PRIM-ar-y. “prim” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/
/pɹaɪməɹi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “primary” means
- noun
a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen
- noun
one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing
- noun
(astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it
Say it in a sentence
“Cost was the primary reason we chose the smaller van.”“primary”, answered
How do you pronounce “primary”?
“primary” is pronounced /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/ (PRY-me-ree) in American English and /pɹaɪməɹi/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “prim”. Build it as PRIM-ar-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “primary” have?
3: prim · ar · y. The beat lands on the first, “prim”.
Is “primary” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/ (PRY-me-ree); British English says /pɹaɪməɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “primary” mean?
As a noun: a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen For example: “Cost was the primary reason we chose the smaller van.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “primary”?
Stress the first syllable: PRIM-ar-y. “prim” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “primary” 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.