sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “semester”

“semester” is pronounced /səˈmɛstɚ/ (suh-ME-stuh) in American English and /səmɛstə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “es”.
The sound

Say “semester” in 3 beats

Say it like this

semester

/səˈmɛstɚ/

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

3 beats
  1. semsə
  2. esmɛstress
  3. terstɚ
IPA (American)
/səˈmɛstɚ/
IPA (British)
/səmɛstə/
Respelling
suh-ME-stuh
Syllables
3 — sem-ES-ter
Stress
Stress the second syllable: sem-ES-ter. “es” 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

/səˈmɛstɚ/

British

/səmɛstə/

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

Meaning

What “semester” means

  1. noun

    one of two divisions of an academic year

  2. noun

    half a year; a period of 6 months

Say it in a sentence

“The semester ends two weeks before the winter holidays.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2əschwa×2mmɛshort ett

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

Questions

“semester”, answered

How do you pronounce “semester”?

“semester” is pronounced /səˈmɛstɚ/ (suh-ME-stuh) in American English and /səmɛstə/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “es”. Build it as sem-ES-ter, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “semester” have?

3: sem · es · ter. The beat lands on the second, “es”.

Is “semester” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /səˈmɛstɚ/ (suh-ME-stuh); British English says /səmɛstə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “semester” mean?

As a noun: one of two divisions of an academic year For example: “The semester ends two weeks before the winter holidays.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “semester”?

Stress the second syllable: sem-ES-ter. “es” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “semester” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with S