Pronunciation

How to pronounce “tenure

“tenure” is pronounced /ˈtɛnjɚ/ (TE-nyuh) in American English and /tɛnjə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tɛ”.
The sound

Say “tenure” in 2 beats

Say it like this

tenure

/ˈtɛnjɚ/

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

2 beats
  1. stress
  2. njɚnjɚ
IPA (American)
/ˈtɛnjɚ/
IPA (British)
/tɛnjə/
Respelling
TE-nyuh
Syllables
2 — TƐ-njɚ
Stress
Stress the first syllable: TƐ-njɚ. “tɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈtɛnjɚ/

British

/tɛnjə/

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

Meaning

What “tenure” means

  1. noun

    the term during which some position is held

  2. noun

    the right to hold property; part of an ancient hierarchical system of holding lands

  3. verb

    give life-time employment to

    She was tenured after she published her book

Say it in a sentence

Her tenure as head of department lasted eleven years.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 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

tenure”, answered

How do you pronounce “tenure”?

“tenure” is pronounced /ˈtɛnjɚ/ (TE-nyuh) in American English and /tɛnjə/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “tɛ”. Build it as TƐ-njɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “tenure” have?

2: tɛ · njɚ. The beat lands on the first, “tɛ”.

Is “tenure” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈtɛnjɚ/ (TE-nyuh); British English says /tɛnjə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “tenure” mean?

As a noun: the term during which some position is held For example: “Her tenure as head of department lasted eleven years.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “tenure”?

Stress the first syllable: TƐ-njɚ. “tɛ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “tenure” 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.