How To Pronounce Vacation

vacation

Phonemic

/vəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

Phonetic

[vəˈkʰeɪ.ʃn̩]

Phonemic

/veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/

In British English, vacation is pronounced /vəˈkeɪ.ʃən/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [vəˈkʰeɪ.ʃn̩]. In American English, it is pronounced /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/.

Vacation has three syllables, and the main stress falls on the second syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

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

vəkeɪʃən

Vacation has three syllables in British English, and the main stress is on the second syllable, shown in colour above. Its stress pattern is oOo, where O is the stressed syllable.

vacation + -s

-s (plural, possessive or singular verb) is /z/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/vəˈkeɪ.ʃənz/

/veɪˈkeɪ.ʃənz/

vacation + -ed

-ed (past tense or past participle) is /d/ after a voiced consonant or a vowel sound.

/vəˈkeɪ.ʃənd/

/veɪˈkeɪ.ʃənd/

vacation + -ing

-ing is always /ɪŋ/.

/vəˈkeɪ.ʃən.ɪŋ/

/veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən.ɪŋ/

Words That Rhyme With Vacation

Questions About Vacation

How do you pronounce vacation in British English?

In British English, vacation is pronounced /vəˈkeɪ.ʃən/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [vəˈkʰeɪ.ʃn̩].

How do you pronounce vacation in American English?

In American English, vacation is pronounced /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/.

How many syllables are in vacation?

Vacation has three syllables, /və/ + /keɪ/ + /ʃən/.

Where is the stress in vacation?

The main stress is on the second syllable, /keɪ/.

Do British and American English pronounce vacation the same way?

No. British English has /vəˈkeɪ.ʃən/ and American English has /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/.

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Other Words With The Stress Pattern oOo

Nearby Words

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