How To Pronounce Tense
tense
UK
Phonemic
/tens/
Phonetic
[tʰẽns]
US
Phonemic
/tens/
In British English, tense is pronounced /tens/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [tʰẽns]. In American English, it is pronounced /tens/.
Tense has one syllable. British and American speakers say it the same way.
Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.
Syllables, Stress And Endings
Syllables And Stress
tens
Tense has one syllable in British English.
tense + -s
-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /ɪz/ after /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/.
UK
/ˈten.sɪz/
US
/ˈten.sɪz/
tense + -ed
-ed (past tense or past participle) is /t/ after a voiceless consonant.
UK
/tenst/
US
/tenst/
tense + -ing
-ing is always /ɪŋ/.
UK
/ˈten.sɪŋ/
US
/ˈten.sɪŋ/
tense + -er
-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English.
UK
/ˈten.sə/
US
/ˈten.sɚ/
tense + -est
-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/.
UK
/ˈten.sɪst/
US
/ˈten.sɪst/
Words That Rhyme With Tense
Questions About Tense
How do you pronounce tense in British English?
In British English, tense is pronounced /tens/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [tʰẽns].
How do you pronounce tense in American English?
In American English, tense is pronounced /tens/.
Do British and American English pronounce tense the same way?
Yes. Both are /tens/.
Nearby Words
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