Pronunciation

How to pronounce “university

“university” is pronounced /ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/ (yoo-nuh-VUR-suh-tee) in American English and /juːnɪvɜːsɪti/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “er”.
The sound

Say “university” in 5 beats

Say it like this

university

/ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/

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

5 beats
  1. unju
  2. iv
  3. erstress
  4. sit
  5. yti
IPA (American)
/ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/
IPA (British)
/juːnɪvɜːsɪti/
Respelling
yoo-nuh-VUR-suh-tee
Syllables
5 — un-iv-ER-sit-y
Stress
Stress the third syllable: un-iv-ER-sit-y. “er” 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

/ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/

British

/juːnɪvɜːsɪti/

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

Meaning

What “university” means

  1. noun

    the body of faculty and students at a university

  2. noun

    establishment where a seat of higher learning is housed, including administrative and living quarters as well as facilities for research and teaching

  3. noun

    a large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees

Say it in a sentence

She was the first in her family to attend university.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

9 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

university”, answered

How do you pronounce “university”?

“university” is pronounced /ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/ (yoo-nuh-VUR-suh-tee) in American English and /juːnɪvɜːsɪti/ in British English — 5 syllables, stressed on “er”. Build it as un-iv-ER-sit-y, then run the third syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “university” have?

5: un · iv · er · sit · y. The beat lands on the third, “er”.

Is “university” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˌjunəˈvɝsəti/ (yoo-nuh-VUR-suh-tee); British English says /juːnɪvɜːsɪti/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “university” mean?

As a noun: the body of faculty and students at a university For example: “She was the first in her family to attend university.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “university”?

Stress the third syllable: un-iv-ER-sit-y. “er” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “university” 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.