How to pronounce “surplus”
Say “surplus” in 2 beats
surplus
/ˈsɝpləs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /sɜːpləs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- surpsɝstress
- luspləs
- IPA (American)
- /ˈsɝpləs/
- IPA (British)
- /sɜːpləs/
- Respelling
- SUR-pluhs
- Syllables
- 2 — SURP-lus
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: SURP-lus. “surp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈsɝpləs/
/sɜːpləs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “surplus” means
- noun
a quantity much larger than is needed
- adjective
more than is needed, desired, or required
“trying to lose excess weight”
Say it in a sentence
“We had a surplus of beans and gave them away.”“surplus”, answered
How do you pronounce “surplus”?
“surplus” is pronounced /ˈsɝpləs/ (SUR-pluhs) in American English and /sɜːpləs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “surp”. Build it as SURP-lus, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “surplus” have?
2: surp · lus. The beat lands on the first, “surp”.
Is “surplus” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈsɝpləs/ (SUR-pluhs); British English says /sɜːpləs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “surplus” mean?
As a noun: a quantity much larger than is needed For example: “We had a surplus of beans and gave them away.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “surplus”?
Stress the first syllable: SURP-lus. “surp” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “surplus” 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.