How to pronounce “quinoa”
Say “quinoa” in 2 beats
quinoa
/ˈkinwɑ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈkiːnwɑː/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- quinkinstress
- oawɑ
- IPA (American)
- /ˈkinwɑ/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈkiːnwɑː/
- Also accepted
- /kiˈnoʊə/
- Respelling
- KEEN-wah
- Syllables
- 2 — QUIN-oa
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: QUIN-oa. “quin” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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
/ˈkinwɑ/
/ˈkiːnwɑː/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Also accepted
/kiˈnoʊə/ — kee-NOH-uh is heard in English, but KEEN-wah is closer to the Spanish original.Where “quinoa” goes wrong
- Often heard
“kwih-NO-ah”
the qui- is said keen, and the stress falls on that first syllable
What “quinoa” means
- noun
a small edible seed from a South American plant, cooked and eaten like a grain
Say it in a sentence
“She cooks quinoa instead of rice on most weeknights.”“quinoa”, answered
How do you pronounce “quinoa”?
“quinoa” is pronounced /ˈkinwɑ/ (KEEN-wah) in American English and /ˈkiːnwɑː/ in British English, and /kiˈnoʊə/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “quin”. Build it as QUIN-oa, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “quinoa” have?
2: quin · oa. The beat lands on the first, “quin”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (kwih-NO-ah), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.
Is “quinoa” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈkinwɑ/ (KEEN-wah); British English says /ˈkiːnwɑː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “quinoa” mean?
As a noun: a small edible seed from a South American plant, cooked and eaten like a grain For example: “She cooks quinoa instead of rice on most weeknights.”
Where is the stress in “quinoa”?
Stress the first syllable: QUIN-oa. “quin” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “quinoa” 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.