How to pronounce “luxury”
Luxury is pronounced /ˈlʌɡʒəriː/. It has 3 syllables, and the beat falls on the first one — lʌɡ. 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 lʌɡ 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 “luxury”
✗ Often said: /ˈlʌksɜːriː/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /ˈlʌɡʒəriː/
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 “luxury” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“luxury” sound by sound
“luxury” 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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lTouch the tongue tip to the ridge behind the upper teeth and let the voiced air flow around the sides of the tongue.
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ʌKeep the tongue central and slightly low with a relaxed, neutral mouth — like a stressed, fuller version of the schwa.
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ɡBack of the tongue seals against the soft palate and releases while the voice is already on — no puff of air.
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ʒSame as /ʃ/ — tongue blade behind the ridge, lips slightly rounded — but with the voice turned on.
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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.
Questions people ask about “luxury”
- How do you pronounce “luxury”?
- “luxury” is pronounced /ˈlʌɡʒəriː/, with the stress on the first syllable (lʌɡ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “luxury”?
- “luxury” has 3 syllables: lʌɡ · ʒər · iː. The stress pattern is Ooo.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “luxury”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈlʌksɜːriː/, but it is actually /ˈlʌɡʒəriː/, 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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