How to pronounce "narration" in English
nəˈreɪʃən
nə·RAY·shən
Primary stress: RAY
Hear native speakers say narration in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “narration”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
nə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
RAY
Gliding diphthong with sustained vocal resonance.
shən
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("RAY"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America.
How Native Speakers Say It: In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "narration" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "narration is" sounds like "narration-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "narration" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Shifts primary stress to the syllable immediately preceding "-tion".
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“narration in this picture take another few steps forward so please be here if you can be thank you”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“narration right now and say I died because my wife wouldn't suck out the venom.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“narration that would earn both poet and biographer an enduring place in American”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“narration of the analysis.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“Narration: "Forgetfulness." The name of the author is the first to go, followed obediently by the title, the plot,”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“I couldn't use narration to convey that, and I also couldn't use something cartoony.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “narration”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
narration in this picture take another few steps forward so please be here if you can be thank you
Hear it in context: “narration”
319 clipsThe English word “narration” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as nəˈreɪʃən (phonetic respelling: nə-RAY-shən). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (nə · RAY · shən), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (RAY). Grammatically, “narration” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 319 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “narration” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, TEDx Talks, Harvard University.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @50:44
“knew subject is life and death and life again so we'll see the art of visual narration in this picture take another few steps forward so please be here if you can be thank you you can be thank you”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #2 · @2:01
“record I'm going to record my funeral narration right now and say I died because my wife wouldn't suck out the venom. because my wife wouldn't suck out the”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #3 · @10:26
“archetypal space allowed a woman writer and honing the powers of observation and narration that would earn both poet and biographer an enduring place in American letters the result is a remarkable book in which the biographer relationship”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #4 · @11:20
“then introduce you to the next step and narrate continuous narration of the analysis. Here we show briefly the hardware equipment we are”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @6:43
“in other words, forgetting the things that you have read. Narration: "Forgetfulness." The name of the author is the first to go, followed obediently by the title, the plot, The name of the author is the first to go,”
Definition & Meaning: “narration”
- The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
- That which is narrated or recounted; an orderly recital of the details and particulars of some transaction or event, or of a series of transactions or events; a story or narrative.
Example Sentences (3)
- “The film used voice-over narration to explain the story.”
- “narration in this picture take another few steps forward so please be here if you can be thank you”
- “narration right now and say I died because my wife wouldn't suck out the venom.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “narration”
- Pronunciation:
- nə-RAY-shən
- Syllables:
- nə · RAY · shən
- Written Hyphenation:
- nar · ra · tion
- Primary stress:
- RAY
- IPA:
- nəˈreɪʃən
- Hear it in context
- narration
Words that Rhyme with “narration”
-eɪʃənWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"narration" (⁄nəˈreɪʃən⁄) 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, "narration" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about narration
How do you pronounce “narration”?
“narration” is pronounced ⁄nəˈreɪʃən⁄ (nə-RAY-shən). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “narration”?
“narration” has 3 syllables: nə · RAY · shən.
Where is the stress in “narration”?
The primary stress in “narration” is on “RAY”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “narration” mean?
The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
How can I hear “narration” used in real sentences?
This page has 319 real-world video examples of “narration” 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 “narration”?
Pronouncing a hard, aspirated [tʰ] in casual conversation can sound overly formal in North America. In American English, a single "t" between vowels quickly taps against the alveolar ridge like a soft "d" ([ɾ]). In British English, maintain a crisp aspirated [tʰ].