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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “variance”

“variance” is pronounced /ˈvɛɹiəns/ (VE-ree-uhns) in American English and /veəɹiəns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “var”.
The sound

Say “variance” in 3 beats

Say it like this

variance

/ˈvɛɹiəns/

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

3 beats
  1. varvɛstress
  2. ianɹi
  3. ceəns
IPA (American)
/ˈvɛɹiəns/
IPA (British)
/veəɹiəns/
Respelling
VE-ree-uhns
Syllables
3 — VAR-ian-ce
Stress
Stress the first syllable: VAR-ian-ce. “var” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈvɛɹiəns/

British

/veəɹiəns/

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

Meaning

What “variance” means

  1. noun

    an event that departs from expectations

  2. noun

    discord that splits a group

  3. noun

    the second moment around the mean; the expected value of the square of the deviations of a random variable from its mean value

Say it in a sentence

“The variance between the estimate and the invoice was small.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
vvɛshort eɹrɪəearnnss

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

Questions

“variance”, answered

How do you pronounce “variance”?

“variance” is pronounced /ˈvɛɹiəns/ (VE-ree-uhns) in American English and /veəɹiəns/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “var”. Build it as VAR-ian-ce, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “variance” have?

3: var · ian · ce. The beat lands on the first, “var”.

Is “variance” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈvɛɹiəns/ (VE-ree-uhns); British English says /veəɹiəns/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “variance” mean?

As a noun: an event that departs from expectations For example: “The variance between the estimate and the invoice was small.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “variance”?

Stress the first syllable: VAR-ian-ce. “var” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “variance” and see every sound

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