sayitsayit
Pronunciation

How to pronounce “tonight”

“tonight” is pronounced /təˈnaɪt/ (tuh-NYT) in American English and /tənaɪt/ in British English, and /tʊˈnaɪt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “ight”.
The sound

Say “tonight” in 2 beats

Say it like this

tonight

/təˈnaɪt/

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

2 beats
  1. tontə
  2. ightnaɪtstress
IPA (American)
/təˈnaɪt/
IPA (British)
/tənaɪt/
Also accepted
/tʊˈnaɪt/
Respelling
tuh-NYT
Syllables
2 — ton-IGHT
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ton-IGHT. “ight” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun, adverb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/təˈnaɪt/

British

/tənaɪt/

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

Meaning

What “tonight” means

  1. noun

    the present or immediately coming night

  2. adverb

    during the night of the present day

    “drop by tonight”

Say it in a sentence

“They are hosting a small dinner party at home tonight.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 sounds, in the order you say them
tt×2əschwannaɪlong i

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

Questions

“tonight”, answered

How do you pronounce “tonight”?

“tonight” is pronounced /təˈnaɪt/ (tuh-NYT) in American English and /tənaɪt/ in British English, and /tʊˈnaɪt/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “ight”. Build it as ton-IGHT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “tonight” have?

2: ton · ight. The beat lands on the second, “ight”.

Is “tonight” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /təˈnaɪt/ (tuh-NYT); British English says /tənaɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “tonight” mean?

As a noun: the present or immediately coming night For example: “They are hosting a small dinner party at home tonight.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “tonight”?

Stress the second syllable: ton-IGHT. “ight” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “tonight” 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.

Practise this word freeMore words with T