Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sophistication

“sophistication” is pronounced /səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/ (suh-fi-stuh-KAY-shuhn) in American English and /səfɪstɪkeɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”.
The sound

Say “sophistication” in 5 beats

Say it like this

sophistication

/səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/

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

5 beats
  1. sop
  2. his
  3. ticstə
  4. atkeɪstress
  5. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/səfɪstɪkeɪʃən/
Respelling
suh-fi-stuh-KAY-shuhn
Syllables
5 — sop-his-tic-AT-ion
Stress
Stress the fourth syllable: sop-his-tic-AT-ion. “at” 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

/səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/

British

/səfɪstɪkeɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “sophistication” means

  1. noun

    uplifting enlightenment

  2. noun

    a deliberately invalid argument displaying ingenuity in reasoning in the hope of deceiving someone

  3. noun

    being expert or having knowledge of some technical subject

    understanding affine transformations requires considerable mathematical sophistication

Say it in a sentence

There is a quiet sophistication to her plain cooking.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

sophistication”, answered

How do you pronounce “sophistication”?

“sophistication” is pronounced /səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/ (suh-fi-stuh-KAY-shuhn) in American English and /səfɪstɪkeɪʃən/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “at”. Build it as sop-his-tic-AT-ion, then run the fourth syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “sophistication” have?

5: sop · his · tic · at · ion. The beat lands on the fourth, “at”.

Is “sophistication” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /səˌfɪstəˈkeɪʃən/ (suh-fi-stuh-KAY-shuhn); British English says /səfɪstɪkeɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sophistication” mean?

As a noun: uplifting enlightenment For example: “There is a quiet sophistication to her plain cooking.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “sophistication”?

Stress the fourth syllable: sop-his-tic-AT-ion. “at” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “sophistication” and see every sound

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