How to pronounce “century”
Century is pronounced /ˈsentʃəriː/. It has 3 syllables, and the beat falls on the first one — sen. Below: the syllable split, native audio in both accents, the mistake people actually make with this word, and every individual sound in it explained.
Syllables and stress
Split it into 3 beats. The highlighted syllable is the strong one: say it louder, longer and a touch higher in pitch, and let the others fall away. English is a stress-timed language, so getting sen in the right place matters more to a listener than getting every vowel perfect.
Stress pattern Ooo — capital letters mark the stressed beats.
The common mispronunciation of “century”
✗ Often said: /ˈkentɜːriː/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /ˈsentʃəriː/
Why the two come apart: the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written; also, a consonant letter takes an unexpected sound value here, so reading it "as written" comes out wrong.
This is why reading English aloud from spelling alone goes wrong so often: the letters of “century” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“century” sound by sound
“century” is built out of 6 sounds. Say each one on its own first, slowly, then run them together at speed. Every sound links to a full guide with mouth position, the mistake learners make with it, and other words that use it.
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sHold the tongue tip near (not touching) the ridge behind the upper teeth and force a narrow stream of air down the groove of the tongue.
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eHold the tongue mid-high and forward with the jaw slightly open and lips relaxed and unrounded.
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nTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth, lower the soft palate, and voice the air out through the nose.
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tʃStop the air with the tongue against the ridge, then release it slowly into a /ʃ/, so it is a stop plus a hiss glued into one sound.
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ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
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iːSpread the lips into a smile, push the front of the tongue high and forward, and hold the sound tense and long.
Minimal pairs — words one sound away from “century”
Each of these differs from “century” by exactly one sound. If you can say both of a pair and hear the difference, that sound is under control:
Questions people ask about “century”
- How do you pronounce “century”?
- “century” is pronounced /ˈsentʃəriː/, with the stress on the first syllable (sen). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “century”?
- “century” has 3 syllables: sen · tʃər · iː. The stress pattern is Ooo.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “century”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈkentɜːriː/, but it is actually /ˈsentʃəriː/, because the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written.
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