How to pronounce "fifteenth century" in English
ˌfɪfˌtiːnθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri
fif·teenth ·SEN·chə·ree
Primary stress: SEN
Hear native speakers say fifteenth century in context across real video clips
painting, we could be thinking of Europe in the fifteenth century or the sixteenth century before the capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “fifteenth century”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
fif
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
teenth
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
SEN
Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.
chə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
ree
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the third syllable ("SEN"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Many learners substitute "th" with "s", "z", "t", or "d".
How Native Speakers Say It: Place the flat blade of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower incisors. Blow air gently without vocal chord vibration to produce the unvoiced ⁄θ⁄ sound.
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "fifteenth century" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "fifteenth century is" sounds like "fifteenth century-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "fifteenth century" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“in the fifteenth century or the sixteenth century before the capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“In the mid-fifteenth century, fist developed into the verb fisten, to break wind, which eventually lead to the modern word feisty,”— TED-EdWatch clip
“According to Renaissance author Leonardo Bruni in the early fifteenth century, “Francesco Petrarch was the first with a talent sufficient”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“Editions of Terence appeared late in the fifteenth century, followed by translations of Greek tragedies and Aristotle’s Poetics.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“spanned nearly four hundred years from the late fifteenth century to the late nineteenth century.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“From the fifteenth century onward, European empires embarked on a so-called “civilizing” mission to convert the world to Christianity, bringing with it ideas about sexuality and gender with them.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “fifteenth century”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
in the fifteenth century or the sixteenth century before the capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on
Hear it in context: “fifteenth century”
53 clipsThe English word “fifteenth century” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˌfɪfˌtiːnθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri (phonetic respelling: fif-teenth -SEN-chə-ree). Phonologically, it consists of 5 syllables (fif · teenth · SEN · chə · ree), with primary lexical stress placed on the 3rd syllable (SEN). Grammatically, “fifteenth century” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 53 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “fifteenth century” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, TED-Ed.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @26:38
“painting, we could be thinking of Europe in the fifteenth century or the sixteenth century before the capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on”
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #2 · @0:21
“which meant stink. In the mid-fifteenth century, fist developed into the verb fisten, to break wind, which eventually lead to the modern word feisty, fist developed into the verb fisten,”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @1:08
“ages” just as his writing and research helped usher in a New Age that we now call the Renaissance. According to Renaissance author Leonardo Bruni in the early fifteenth century, “Francesco Petrarch was the first with a talent sufficient in the early fifteenth century, “Francesco Petrarch was the first with a talent sufficient”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @1:06
“Still, French playwriting had a slow start. Editions of Terence appeared late in the fifteenth century, followed by translations of Greek tragedies and Aristotle’s Poetics. tragedies and Aristotle’s Poetics.”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @0:07
“and today we’re learning about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which spanned nearly four hundred years from the late fifteenth century to the late nineteenth century. The majority of enslaved Africans were taken from six primary regions, Senegambia,”
Definition & Meaning: “fifteenth century”
- The period of time from the year 1401 through 1500.
Example Sentences (3)
- “The painting dates back to the fifteenth century.”
- “in the fifteenth century or the sixteenth century before the capitalist revolution because there was always the reliance on”
- “In the mid-fifteenth century, fist developed into the verb fisten, to break wind, which eventually lead to the modern word feisty,”
Pronounce: “fifteenth century”
- Pronunciation:
- fif-teenth -SEN-chə-ree
- Syllables:
- fif · teenth · SEN · chə · ree
- Written Hyphenation:
- fif · teenth · cen · tu · ry
- Primary stress:
- SEN
- IPA:
- ˌfɪfˌtiːnθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri
- Hear it in context
- fifteenth century
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"fifteenth century" (⁄ˌfɪfˌtiːnθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri⁄) 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, "fifteenth century" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about fifteenth century
How do you pronounce “fifteenth century”?
“fifteenth century” is pronounced ⁄ˌfɪfˌtiːnθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri⁄ (fif-teenth -SEN-chə-ree). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “fifteenth century”?
“fifteenth century” has 5 syllables: fif · teenth · SEN · chə · ree.
Where is the stress in “fifteenth century”?
The primary stress in “fifteenth century” is on “SEN”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “fifteenth century” mean?
The period of time from the year 1401 through 1500.
How can I hear “fifteenth century” used in real sentences?
This page has 53 real-world video examples of “fifteenth century” 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 “fifteenth century”?
Many learners substitute "th" with "s", "z", "t", or "d". Place the flat blade of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower incisors. Blow air gently without vocal chord vibration to produce the unvoiced ⁄θ⁄ sound.