Pronunciation

How to pronounce “sophomore

“sophomore” is pronounced /ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/ (SOF-uh-mor) in American English and /ˈsɒfəmɔː/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sɑ”.
The sound

Say “sophomore” in 3 beats

Say it like this

sophomore

/ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/

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

3 beats
  1. stress
  2. mɔɹmɔɹ
IPA (American)
/ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/
IPA (British)
/ˈsɒfəmɔː/
Respelling
SOF-uh-mor
Syllables
3 — SⱭ-fə-mɔɹ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: SⱭ-fə-mɔɹ. “sɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/

British

/ˈsɒfəmɔː/

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

Watch out

Where “sophomore” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    SOF-more

    three syllables in careful speech: SOF-uh-mor

Meaning

What “sophomore” means

  1. noun

    a second-year undergraduate

  2. adjective

    used of the second year in United States high school or college

    the sophomore class

Say it in a sentence

As a sophomore she finally chose her main subject.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 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

sophomore”, answered

How do you pronounce “sophomore”?

“sophomore” is pronounced /ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/ (SOF-uh-mor) in American English and /ˈsɒfəmɔː/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sɑ”. Build it as SⱭ-fə-mɔɹ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “sophomore” have?

3: sɑ · fə · mɔɹ. The beat lands on the first, “sɑ”.

Is “sophomore” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈsɑfəˌmɔɹ/ (SOF-uh-mor); British English says /ˈsɒfəmɔː/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “sophomore” mean?

As a noun: a second-year undergraduate For example: “As a sophomore she finally chose her main subject.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “sophomore”?

Stress the first syllable: SⱭ-fə-mɔɹ. “sɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “sophomore” and see every sound

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