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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “traditional”

“traditional” is pronounced /tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/ (truh-DI-shuh-nuhl) in American English and /tɹɐdɪʃənəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”.
The sound

Say “traditional” in 4 beats

Say it like this

traditional

/tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/

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

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

American and British are not the same here

American

/tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/

British

/tɹɐdɪʃənəl/

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

Meaning

What “traditional” means

  1. adjective

    consisting of or derived from tradition

    “traditional history”

  2. adjective

    pertaining to time-honored orthodox doctrines

    “the simple security of traditional assumptions has vanished”

Say it in a sentence

“They still bake bread using a traditional wood-fired oven.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

8 sounds, in the order you say them
ttɹrəschwa×3ddɪshort iʃshnnll

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

Questions

“traditional”, answered

How do you pronounce “traditional”?

“traditional” is pronounced /tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/ (truh-DI-shuh-nuhl) in American English and /tɹɐdɪʃənəl/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “it”. Build it as trad-IT-ion-al, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “traditional” have?

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

Is “traditional” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/ (truh-DI-shuh-nuhl); British English says /tɹɐdɪʃənəl/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “traditional” mean?

As an adjective: consisting of or derived from tradition For example: “traditional history” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “traditional”?

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

Practise this word

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