Pronunciation

How to pronounce “requirement

“requirement” is pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/ (rih-KWY-ur-muhnt) in American English and /ɹɪˈkwaɪəmənt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “uir”.
The sound

Say “requirement” in 4 beats

Say it like this

requirement

/ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/

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

4 beats
  1. reqɹɪ
  2. uirkwaɪstress
  3. emɚ
  4. entmənt
IPA (American)
/ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/
IPA (British)
/ɹɪˈkwaɪəmənt/
Respelling
rih-KWY-ur-muhnt
Syllables
4 — req-UIR-em-ent
Stress
Stress the second syllable: req-UIR-em-ent. “uir” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/

British

/ɹɪˈkwaɪəmənt/

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

Watch out

Where “requirement” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    REE-kwire-ment

    the stress is on KWY, the second syllable

Meaning

What “requirement” means

  1. noun

    required activity

    the requirements of his work affected his health

  2. noun

    anything indispensable

    food and shelter are necessities of life

  3. noun

    something that is required in advance

    Latin was a prerequisite for admission

Say it in a sentence

A basic requirement for the job is a clean driving licence.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 sounds, in the order you say them

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

Questions

requirement”, answered

How do you pronounce “requirement”?

“requirement” is pronounced /ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/ (rih-KWY-ur-muhnt) in American English and /ɹɪˈkwaɪəmənt/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “uir”. Build it as req-UIR-em-ent, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “requirement” have?

4: req · uir · em · ent. The beat lands on the second, “uir”.

Is “requirement” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɹɪˈkwaɪɚmənt/ (rih-KWY-ur-muhnt); British English says /ɹɪˈkwaɪəmənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “requirement” mean?

As a noun: required activity For example: “the requirements of his work affected his health” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “requirement”?

Stress the second syllable: req-UIR-em-ent. “uir” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “requirement” 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.