How to pronounce "covariances" in English
co·VA·ri·an·ces
Primary stress: va
Hear native speakers say covariances in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “covariances”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
co
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
VA
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
ri
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
an
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
ces
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("VA"). 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 "covariances" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "covariances is" sounds like "covariances-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "covariances" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“One situation where covariances show up is when we try to calculate the variance of a sum of random variables.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“zero mean um and uh covariance uh covariances uh I guess sigma and and then W T. So, something”— StanfordWatch clip
“So we wanna compute covariances, if we have a multinomial, okay?”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“You have to take account of the covariances of the assets.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“If the random variables have 0 covariances, then the variance of the sum is the sum of the variances.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“So covariances in a multinomial.”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
Practice Speaking “covariances”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
One situation where covariances show up is when we try to calculate the variance of a sum of random variables.
Hear it in context: “covariances”
118 clipsThe English word “covariances”. Phonologically, it consists of 5 syllables (co · va · ri · an · ces), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (va). Grammatically, “covariances” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 118 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “covariances” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from MIT OpenCourseWare, Stanford, Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #1 · @0:00
“One situation where covariances show up is when we try to calculate the variance of a sum of random variables. is when we try to calculate the variance”
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #2 · @26:57
“no constraints. Um These variables are independent uh with zero mean um and uh covariance uh covariances uh I guess sigma and and then W T. So, something covariance uh covariances uh I guess sigma and and then W T. So, something”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #3 · @33:27
“But it's an important example, cuz multinomials come up a lot. So we wanna compute covariances, if we have a multinomial, okay? So covariances in a multinomial.”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #4 · @52:32
“covariances. You have to take account of the covariances of the assets. Because if they move together, if they all go in the same”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #5 · @4:56
“that gives us the variance of a sum of random variables. If the random variables have 0 covariances, then the variance of the sum is the sum of the variances. then the variance of the sum is the sum of the variances.”
Definition & Meaning: “covariances”
- A statistical measure defined as scriptstyle operatorname Cov(X,Y)= operatorname E((X-μ)(Y-ν)) given two real-valued random variables X and Y, with expected values scriptstyle E(X),=,μ and scriptstyle E(Y),=,ν.
- The conversion of data types from wider to narrower in certain situations.
Example Sentences (3)
- “The elements of such a correlation matrix do not have asymptotic variances and covariances of the form (1.2), even if S has a Wishart distribution.”
- “As we will see in Chapter 8, we see both covariance and contravariance throughout the Java Collections. They largely exist to ensure that the generics just “do the right thing” and behave in a manner that should not surprise the developer.”
- “One situation where covariances show up is when we try to calculate the variance of a sum of random variables.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “covariances”
- Syllables:
- co · va · ri · an · ces
- Primary stress:
- va
- Hear it in context
- covariances
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"covariances" 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, "covariances" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about covariances
How many syllables are in “covariances”?
“covariances” has 5 syllables: co · va · ri · an · ces.
Where is the stress in “covariances”?
The primary stress in “covariances” is on “VA”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “covariances” mean?
A statistical measure defined as scriptstyle operatorname Cov(X,Y)= operatorname E((X-μ)(Y-ν)) given two real-valued random variables X and Y, with expected values scriptstyle E(X),=,μ and scriptstyle E(Y),=,ν.
How can I hear “covariances” used in real sentences?
This page has 118 real-world video examples of “covariances” 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 “covariances”?
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⁄).