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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “society”

“society” is pronounced /səˈsaɪəti/ (suh-SY-uh-tee) in American English and /səsaɪəti/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “saɪ”.
The sound

Say “society” in 4 beats

Say it like this

society

/səˈsaɪəti/

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

4 beats
  1. səsə
  2. saɪsaɪstress
  3. əə
  4. titi
IPA (American)
/səˈsaɪəti/
IPA (British)
/səsaɪəti/
Respelling
suh-SY-uh-tee
Syllables
4 — sə-SAꞮ-ə-ti
Stress
Stress the second syllable: sə-SAꞮ-ə-ti. “saɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/səˈsaɪəti/

British

/səsaɪəti/

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

Meaning

What “society” means

  1. noun

    an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

  2. noun

    a formal association of people with similar interests

    “he joined a golf club”

  3. noun

    the state of being with someone

    “he missed their company”

Say it in a sentence

“A society is judged by how it treats its oldest members.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2əschwa×2aɪlong ittilong e

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

Questions

“society”, answered

How do you pronounce “society”?

“society” is pronounced /səˈsaɪəti/ (suh-SY-uh-tee) in American English and /səsaɪəti/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “saɪ”. Build it as sə-SAꞮ-ə-ti, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “society” have?

4: sə · saɪ · ə · ti. The beat lands on the second, “saɪ”.

Is “society” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /səˈsaɪəti/ (suh-SY-uh-tee); British English says /səsaɪəti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “society” mean?

As a noun: an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization For example: “A society is judged by how it treats its oldest members.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “society”?

Stress the second syllable: sə-SAꞮ-ə-ti. “saɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “society” and see every sound

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