Pronunciation

How to pronounce “someone

“someone” is pronounced /ˈsʌmˌwʌn/ (SUM-wun) in American English and /sʌmwɒn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sʌm”.
The sound

Say “someone” in 2 beats

Say it like this

someone

/ˈsʌmˌwʌn/

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

2 beats
  1. sʌmsʌmstress
  2. wʌnwʌn
IPA (American)
/ˈsʌmˌwʌn/
IPA (British)
/sʌmwɒn/
Respelling
SUM-wun
Syllables
2 — SɅM-wʌn
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SɅM-wʌn. “sʌm” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls 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

/ˈsʌmˌwʌn/

British

/sʌmwɒn/

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

Meaning

What “someone” means

  1. noun

    a human being

    there was too much for one person to do

Say it in a sentence

Someone left their jacket on the back of the chair.
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

someone”, answered

How do you pronounce “someone”?

“someone” is pronounced /ˈsʌmˌwʌn/ (SUM-wun) in American English and /sʌmwɒn/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “sʌm”. Build it as SɅM-wʌn, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “someone” have?

2: sʌm · wʌn. The beat lands on the first, “sʌm”.

Is “someone” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsʌmˌwʌn/ (SUM-wun); British English says /sʌmwɒn/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “someone” mean?

As a noun: a human being For example: “there was too much for one person to do”

Where is the stress in “someone”?

Stress the first syllable: SɅM-wʌn. “sʌm” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “someone” 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.