Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 213 of 545 · The stress trap
How to pronounce university
/ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəti/ British English
yoo·ni·VUR·sə·tee
5 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the third one.
✗ Many people say
u·NI·ver·si·ty
✓ Say
yoo·ni·VUR·sə·tee
My tip
Stress the third beat: yoo-ni-VUR-sə-tee.
In a sentence
My sister is at university.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: yoo-ni-VUR-sə-tee.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce university?
In British English, university is pronounced /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəti/. Say it like this: yoo-ni-VUR-sə-tee. Stress the third beat: yoo-ni-VUR-sə-tee.
How many syllables are in university?
When you say it, university has 5 syllables: yoo-ni-VUR-sə-tee. The strong beat is the third one, VUR.
More words like this: the stress trap
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /ɜː/ as in “bird”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Word stress setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
- More gamesFive of my English games are free to play.