How to pronounce "enemy" in English
ˈɛnəmi
E·nə·mee
Primary stress: E
Hear native speakers say enemy in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “enemy”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
E
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
nə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
mee
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("E"). 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 "enemy" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "enemy is" sounds like "enemy-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "enemy" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent thank you for listening and hope to see you next time”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“enemy countries. then you need to to one worry about whether you're overly vulnerable and also people are worrying”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“enemy of the people, so a threat to national security, because he was exposing corruption in state-owned companies.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“enemy lines. That that capability doesn't really exist uh in in an sort of in depth indigenous”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“enemy and that really got his ire up and he really wanted to do something to to”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“enemy. And behind the general came at least some of his victorious troops. They interestingly were”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “enemy”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent thank you for listening and hope to see you next time
Hear it in context: “enemy”
10,616 clipsThe English word “enemy” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈɛnəmi (phonetic respelling: E-nə-mee). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (E · nə · mee), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (E). Grammatically, “enemy” functions as a noun, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 10,616 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “enemy” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USClip #1 · @149:04
“Sun Tzu and the Art of War the whole secret lies in confusing the enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent thank you for listening and hope to see you next time thank you for listening and hope to see you next time”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @13:07
“notice at all to allies as well as to enemy countries. then you need to to one worry about whether you're overly vulnerable and also people are worrying worry about whether you're overly”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @3:36
“2005 he was declared sort of enemy of the people, so a threat to national security, because he was exposing corruption in state-owned companies. a threat to national security,”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @10:28
“and control and supply lines behind enemy lines. That that capability doesn't really exist uh in in an sort of in depth indigenous That that capability doesn't really”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @32:17
“a fellow US officer who was a woman, a woman pilot who had been mangled by the enemy and that really got his ire up and he really wanted to do something to to be able to prevent that kind of incident in the future. And that what that's when”
Definition & Meaning: “enemy”
- Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
- A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation.
- To make an enemy of.
Example Sentences (3)
- “under enemy duress”
- “Rally together against a common enemy.”
- “enemy so that he cannot fathom our real intent thank you for listening and hope to see you next time”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “enemy”
- Pronunciation:
- E-nə-mee
- Syllables:
- E · nə · mee
- Written Hyphenation:
- en · e · my
- Primary stress:
- E
- IPA:
- ˈɛnəmi
- Hear it in context
- enemy
Synonyms: “enemy”
Hear words related in meaning to “enemy” in real video clips:
Words that Rhyme with “enemy”
-ɛnəmiWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"enemy" (⁄ˈɛnəmi⁄) 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, "enemy" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about enemy
How do you pronounce “enemy”?
“enemy” is pronounced ⁄ˈɛnəmi⁄ (E-nə-mee). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “enemy”?
“enemy” has 3 syllables: E · nə · mee.
Where is the stress in “enemy”?
The primary stress in “enemy” is on “E”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “enemy” mean?
Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else.
How can I hear “enemy” used in real sentences?
This page has 10616 real-world video examples of “enemy” 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 “enemy”?
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⁄).