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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “tradition”

“tradition” is pronounced /tɹəˈdɪʃən/ (truh-DI-shuhn) in American English and /tɹɐdɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “tradition” in 3 beats

Say it like this

tradition

/tɹəˈdɪʃən/

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

3 beats
  1. tradtɹə
  2. itdɪstress
  3. ionʃən
IPA (American)
/tɹəˈdɪʃən/
IPA (British)
/tɹɐdɪʃən/
Respelling
truh-DI-shuhn
Syllables
3 — trad-IT-ion
Stress
Stress the second syllable: trad-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/tɹəˈdɪʃən/

British

/tɹɐdɪʃən/

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

Meaning

What “tradition” means

  1. noun

    an inherited pattern of thought or action

  2. noun

    a specific practice of long standing

Say it in a sentence

“It is a family tradition to walk to the sea on New Year's Day.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
ttɹrəschwa×2ddɪshort iʃshnn

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

Questions

“tradition”, answered

How do you pronounce “tradition”?

“tradition” is pronounced /tɹəˈdɪʃən/ (truh-DI-shuhn) in American English and /tɹɐdɪʃən/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as trad-IT-ion, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “tradition” have?

3: trad · it · ion. The beat lands on the second, “it”.

Is “tradition” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /tɹəˈdɪʃən/ (truh-DI-shuhn); British English says /tɹɐdɪʃən/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “tradition” mean?

As a noun: an inherited pattern of thought or action For example: “It is a family tradition to walk to the sea on New Year's Day.” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “tradition”?

Stress the second syllable: trad-IT-ion. “it” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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