How to pronounce “somewhat”
Say “somewhat” in 2 beats
somewhat
/ˈsʌmˈwʌt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /sʌmwɒt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- sʌmsʌmstress
- wʌtwʌt
- IPA (American)
- /ˈsʌmˈwʌt/
- IPA (British)
- /sʌmwɒt/
- Also accepted
- /ˈsʌmˈhwʌt/
- Respelling
- SUM-wut
- Syllables
- 2 — SɅM-wʌt
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SɅM-wʌt. “sʌm” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- adverb
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/ˈsʌmˈwʌt/
/sʌmwɒt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “somewhat” means
- adverb
to a small degree or extent
“his arguments were somewhat self-contradictory”
- adverb
to a moderately sufficient extent or degree
“pretty big”
Say it in a sentence
“The soup is somewhat saltier than I had intended.”The sounds inside this word
Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.
“somewhat”, answered
How do you pronounce “somewhat”?
“somewhat” is pronounced /ˈsʌmˈwʌt/ (SUM-wut) in American English and /sʌmwɒt/ in British English, and /ˈsʌmˈhwʌt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “sʌm”. Build it as SɅM-wʌt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “somewhat” have?
2: sʌm · wʌt. The beat lands on the first, “sʌm”.
Is “somewhat” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈsʌmˈwʌt/ (SUM-wut); British English says /sʌmwɒt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “somewhat” mean?
As an adverb: to a small degree or extent For example: “his arguments were somewhat self-contradictory” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “somewhat”?
Stress the first syllable: SɅM-wʌt. “sʌm” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “somewhat” 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.