How to pronounce "hamartia" in English
ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə
ha·mar·TEE·ə
Primary stress: TEE
Hear native speakers say hamartia in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “hamartia”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
ha
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
mar
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
TEE
Tense long vowel with sustained acoustic resonance.
ə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the third syllable ("TEE"). 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 followed by a vowel, insert a subtle glide (/w/ or /j/) to connect into the subsequent word without an abrupt glottal stop.
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "hamartia" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“This is my fatal flaw, my hamartia something that comes out even when it comes to those closest to me.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“And he has one particular tragic flaw, or hamartia, something like ambition, tyranny, stubbornness, or excess pride”— TED-EdWatch clip
“So is the idea of hamartia, or mostly good characters missing the mark, like when Hamlet gets caught up in his father’s revenge story, or Brutus joins the conspirators, or the Scottish”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“So instead, it has to be about a good guy afflicted with a hamartia, or a ha-marsha, depending on how pretentious you are.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“The word for frailty in Greek is hamartia.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“it’s your hamartia, it’s your fatal flaw.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “hamartia”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
This is my fatal flaw, my hamartia something that comes out even when it comes to those closest to me.
Hear it in context: “hamartia”
8 clipsThe English word “hamartia” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə (phonetic respelling: ha-mar-TEE-ə). Phonologically, it consists of 4 syllables (ha · mar · TEE · ə), with primary lexical stress placed on the 3rd syllable (TEE). Grammatically, “hamartia” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 8 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “hamartia” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks, TED-Ed.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @4:17
“that their opinions are wrong, but because I already decided that they were. This is my fatal flaw, my hamartia something that comes out even when it comes to those closest to me. my hamartia something that comes out even when it comes to those closest to me.”
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #2 · @1:00
“neither is the hero. And he has one particular tragic flaw, or hamartia, something like ambition, tyranny, stubbornness, or excess pride something like ambition, tyranny, stubbornness, or excess pride”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @5:50
“They’re here, too. Mostly. So is the idea of hamartia, or mostly good characters missing the mark, like when Hamlet gets caught up in his father’s revenge story, or Brutus joins the conspirators, or the Scottish So is the idea of hamartia, or mostly good characters missing the mark, like when Hamlet”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @5:07
“imply that the universe doesn't reward goodness and punish evil, which is kind of a terrifying thought. So instead, it has to be about a good guy afflicted with a hamartia, or a ha-marsha, depending on how pretentious you are. This word is sometimes mistranslated, including depending on how pretentious you are. This word is sometimes mistranslated, including”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @6:21
“misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty.” The word for frailty in Greek is hamartia. It’s a term that comes from archery and it means missing the mark.”
Definition & Meaning: “hamartia”
- The tragic flaw of the protagonist in a literary tragedy.
- Sin.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Creon's main hamartia was his excessive pride.”
- “As a consequence of the primeval peripety, the Adamic fall narrated in Genesis 3, they have all inherited the catastrophic and tragic hamartia, as it were, of original sin, the engrained powerlessness of the soul to will the good, much less to do it, along with the deep disorientation of the soul's root desire.”
- “This is my fatal flaw, my hamartia something that comes out even when it comes to those closest to me.”
Pronounce: “hamartia”
- Pronunciation:
- ha-mar-TEE-ə
- Syllables:
- ha · mar · TEE · ə
- Written Hyphenation:
- ha · mar · ti · a
- Primary stress:
- TEE
- IPA:
- ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə
- Hear it in context
- hamartia
Words that Rhyme with “hamartia”
-iəWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"hamartia" (⁄ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə⁄) 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, "hamartia" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about hamartia
How do you pronounce “hamartia”?
“hamartia” is pronounced ⁄ˌhæˌmɑɹˈtiː.ə⁄ (ha-mar-TEE-ə). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “hamartia”?
“hamartia” has 4 syllables: ha · mar · TEE · ə.
Where is the stress in “hamartia”?
The primary stress in “hamartia” is on “TEE”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “hamartia” mean?
The tragic flaw of the protagonist in a literary tragedy.
How can I hear “hamartia” used in real sentences?
This page has 8 real-world video examples of “hamartia” 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 “hamartia”?
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⁄).