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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “spontaneous”

“spontaneous” is pronounced /spɑnˈteɪniəs/ (spahn-TAY-nee-uhs) in American English and /spɒnteɪniəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “teɪ”.
The sound

Say “spontaneous” in 4 beats

Say it like this

spontaneous

/spɑnˈteɪniəs/

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

4 beats
  1. spɑnspɑn
  2. teɪteɪstress
  3. nini
  4. əsəs
IPA (American)
/spɑnˈteɪniəs/
IPA (British)
/spɒnteɪniəs/
Respelling
spahn-TAY-nee-uhs
Syllables
4 — spɑn-TEꞮ-ni-əs
Stress
Stress the second syllable: spɑn-TEꞮ-ni-əs. “teɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/spɑnˈteɪniəs/

British

/spɒnteɪniəs/

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

Meaning

What “spontaneous” means

  1. adjective

    happening or arising without apparent external cause

    “spontaneous laughter”

  2. adjective

    said or done without having been planned or written in advance

    “he made a few ad-lib remarks”

Say it in a sentence

“The applause was spontaneous and lasted a full minute.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ss×2ppɑahnn×2tteɪlong aɪəear

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

Questions

“spontaneous”, answered

How do you pronounce “spontaneous”?

“spontaneous” is pronounced /spɑnˈteɪniəs/ (spahn-TAY-nee-uhs) in American English and /spɒnteɪniəs/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “teɪ”. Build it as spɑn-TEꞮ-ni-əs, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “spontaneous” have?

4: spɑn · teɪ · ni · əs. The beat lands on the second, “teɪ”.

Is “spontaneous” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /spɑnˈteɪniəs/ (spahn-TAY-nee-uhs); British English says /spɒnteɪniəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “spontaneous” mean?

As an adjective: happening or arising without apparent external cause For example: “spontaneous laughter” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “spontaneous”?

Stress the second syllable: spɑn-TEꞮ-ni-əs. “teɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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