How to pronounce "centimes" in English
ˈsɒn.tiːmz
SON·teemz
Primary stress: SON
Hear native speakers say centimes in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “centimes”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
SON
Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.
teemz
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("SON"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "centimes" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "centimes is" sounds like "centimes-iz").
In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "centimes" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“A deposit of a few centimes was added to the purchase price, which guaranteed its return.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“I don't care about dollars and centimes and francs.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Every period there's a choice of whether you're dealing with dollars, or francs, or centimes, or how many, and so there's a free”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“they transformed into centimes.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
Practice Speaking “centimes”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
A deposit of a few centimes was added to the purchase price, which guaranteed its return.
Hear it in context: “centimes”
4 clipsThe English word “centimes” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈsɒn.tiːmz (phonetic respelling: SON-teemz). Phonologically, it consists of 2 syllables (SON · teemz), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (SON). Grammatically, “centimes” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 4 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “centimes” in natural connected speech across American (US: 4 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks, YaleCourses.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (4 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @0:26
“How did it work? A deposit of a few centimes was added to the purchase price, which guaranteed its return. which guaranteed its return.”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #2 · @17:27
“"How many apples am I going to get out of this stock? I don't care about dollars and centimes and francs. I'm not going to eat that.”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #3 · @15:07
“In multi-period models there's a normalization every period. Every period there's a choice of whether you're dealing with dollars, or francs, or centimes, or how many, and so there's a free dollars, or francs, or centimes,”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #4 · @19:20
“you could see still these little coins from Vichy that they transformed into centimes. Paxton's book--I saw him once when I was in Brussels.”
Definition & Meaning: “centimes”
- A coin making up one hundredth of an Andorran diner (but, like the diner, not legal tender).
- Plural form of centime, a monetary unit of France and several other countries, equal to one-hundredth of a franc.
Example Sentences (3)
- “The small trinket only cost a few centimes at the market stall.”
- “A deposit of a few centimes was added to the purchase price, which guaranteed its return.”
- “I don't care about dollars and centimes and francs.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “centimes”
- Pronunciation:
- SON-teemz
- Syllables:
- SON · teemz
- Written Hyphenation:
- cen · times
- Primary stress:
- SON
- IPA:
- ˈsɒn.tiːmz
- Hear it in context
- centimes
Words that Rhyme with “centimes”
-ɒntimzWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"centimes" (⁄ˈsɒn.tiːmz⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "centimes" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about centimes
How do you pronounce “centimes”?
“centimes” is pronounced ⁄ˈsɒn.tiːmz⁄ (SON-teemz). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “centimes”?
“centimes” has 2 syllables: SON · teemz.
Where is the stress in “centimes”?
The primary stress in “centimes” is on “SON”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “centimes” mean?
A coin making up one hundredth of an Andorran diner (but, like the diner, not legal tender).
How can I hear “centimes” used in real sentences?
This page has 4 real-world video examples of “centimes” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “centimes”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).