Pronunciation

How to pronounce “roommate

“roommate” is pronounced /ˈɹuˌmeɪt/ (ROO-mayt) in American English and /ɹuːmeɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ɹu”.
The sound

Say “roommate” in 2 beats

Say it like this

roommate

/ˈɹuˌmeɪt/

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

2 beats
  1. ɹuɹustress
  2. meɪtmeɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈɹuˌmeɪt/
IPA (British)
/ɹuːmeɪt/
Respelling
ROO-mayt
Syllables
2 — ɹU-meɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: ɹU-meɪt. “ɹu” 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
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɹuˌmeɪt/

British

/ɹuːmeɪt/

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

Meaning

What “roommate” means

  1. noun

    an associate who shares a room with you

Say it in a sentence

My roommate studied medicine and kept very odd hours.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

roommate”, answered

How do you pronounce “roommate”?

“roommate” is pronounced /ˈɹuˌmeɪt/ (ROO-mayt) in American English and /ɹuːmeɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “ɹu”. Build it as ɹU-meɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “roommate” have?

2: ɹu · meɪt. The beat lands on the first, “ɹu”.

Is “roommate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈɹuˌmeɪt/ (ROO-mayt); British English says /ɹuːmeɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “roommate” mean?

As a noun: an associate who shares a room with you For example: “My roommate studied medicine and kept very odd hours.”

Where is the stress in “roommate”?

Stress the first syllable: ɹU-meɪt. “ɹu” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “roommate” 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.