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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “proportion”

“proportion” is pronounced /pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/ (pruh-PAWR-shuhn) in American English and /pɹəpɔːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “or”.
The sound

Say “proportion” in 3 beats

Say it like this

proportion

/pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. proppɹə
  2. orpɔɹstress
  3. tionʃən
IPA (American)
/pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/
IPA (British)
/pɹəpɔːʃən/
Respelling
pruh-PAWR-shuhn
Syllables
3 — prop-OR-tion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: prop-OR-tion. “or” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/

British

/pɹəpɔːʃən/

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

Meaning

What “proportion” means

  1. noun

    the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole

  2. noun

    magnitude or extent

    “a building of vast proportions”

  3. noun

    balance among the parts of something

Say it in a sentence

“A larger proportion of the crop failed this year.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
pp×2ɹr×2əschwa×2ɔawʃshnn

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

Questions

“proportion”, answered

How do you pronounce “proportion”?

“proportion” is pronounced /pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/ (pruh-PAWR-shuhn) in American English and /pɹəpɔːʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “or”. Build it as prop-OR-tion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “proportion” have?

3: prop · or · tion. The beat lands on the second, “or”.

Is “proportion” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɹəˈpɔɹʃən/ (pruh-PAWR-shuhn); British English says /pɹəpɔːʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “proportion” mean?

As a noun: the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole For example: “A larger proportion of the crop failed this year.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “proportion”?

Stress the second syllable: prop-OR-tion. “or” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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