How to pronounce “temporary”
Say “temporary” in 4 beats
temporary
/ˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /tɛmpɹəɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- temtɛmstress
- porpɚ
- arɛ
- yɹi
- IPA (American)
- /ˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /tɛmpɹəɹi/
- Respelling
- TEM-puh-e-ree
- Syllables
- 4 — TEM-por-ar-y
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: TEM-por-ar-y. “tem” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/
/tɛmpɹəɹi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “temporary” means
- noun
a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis
- adjective
not permanent; not lasting; - James Thurber
“politics is an impermanent factor of life”
- adjective
lacking continuity or regularity
“an irregular worker”
Say it in a sentence
“The repair is temporary until the proper part arrives.”“temporary”, answered
How do you pronounce “temporary”?
“temporary” is pronounced /ˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/ (TEM-puh-e-ree) in American English and /tɛmpɹəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “tem”. Build it as TEM-por-ar-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “temporary” have?
4: tem · por · ar · y. The beat lands on the first, “tem”.
Is “temporary” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈtɛmpɚˌɛɹi/ (TEM-puh-e-ree); British English says /tɛmpɹəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “temporary” mean?
As a noun: a worker (especially in an office) hired on a temporary basis For example: “The repair is temporary until the proper part arrives.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “temporary”?
Stress the first syllable: TEM-por-ar-y. “tem” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “temporary” 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.