How to pronounce "opossums" in English
o·POS·sums
Primary stress: pos
Hear native speakers say opossums in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “opossums”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
o
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
POS
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
sums
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("POS"). 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 "opossums" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "opossums is" sounds like "opossums-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "opossums" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“As a result, the animals that live there, like turtles, deer, raccoons, and opossums, are adapted to changing water levels.”— SciShowWatch clip
“and then passing on their offspring, and so we now see this in opossums.”— Khan AcademyWatch clip
“giant ground sloths weighing more than a ton, opossums, monkeys, and carnivorous terror birds.”— TED-EdWatch clip
“And then the opossums and the hedgehogs also have relatively small neocortexes.”— MIT OpenCourseWareWatch clip
“the same problem with both of the geese laying eggs at a great rate he also has trouble with opossums infesting his palm trees which seems very strange to me we”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“fear turns into anger you know so we could be an angry possum like this one of my lab members less opossums and since possum photos everyone so I”— StanfordWatch clip
Practice Speaking “opossums”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
As a result, the animals that live there, like turtles, deer, raccoons, and opossums, are adapted to changing water levels.
Hear it in context: “opossums”
36 clipsThe English word “opossums”. Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (o · pos · sums), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (pos). Grammatically, “opossums” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 36 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “opossums” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from SciShow, Khan Academy, TED-Ed.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USSciShowClip #1 · @1:40
“Many of them go through seasonal wet and dry periods. As a result, the animals that live there, like turtles, deer, raccoons, and opossums, are adapted to changing water levels. like turtles, deer, raccoons, and opossums,”
- 🇺🇸 USKhan AcademyClip #2 · @9:58
“had a higher chance of not being killed, and then passing on their offspring, and so we now see this in opossums. and so we now see this in opossums.”
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #3 · @1:12
“that included armored glyptodonts as large as compact cars, giant ground sloths weighing more than a ton, opossums, monkeys, and carnivorous terror birds. opossums, monkeys, and carnivorous terror birds.”
- 🇺🇸 USMIT OpenCourseWareClip #4 · @26:30
“And this is all olfactory cortex. And then the opossums and the hedgehogs also have relatively small neocortexes. also have relatively small neocortexes.”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #5 · @27:41
“says ganders often seem to turn out to be geese don't they a neighbor just had the same problem with both of the geese laying eggs at a great rate he also has trouble with opossums infesting his palm trees which seems very strange to me we trouble with opossums infesting his palm trees which seems very strange to me we”
Definition & Meaning: “opossums”
- Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia.
Example Sentences (2)
- “As a result, the animals that live there, like turtles, deer, raccoons, and opossums, are adapted to changing water levels.”
- “and then passing on their offspring, and so we now see this in opossums.”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “opossums”
- Syllables:
- o · pos · sums
- Primary stress:
- pos
- Hear it in context
- opossums
Synonyms: “opossums”
Hear words related in meaning to “opossums” in real video clips:
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"opossums" 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, "opossums" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about opossums
How many syllables are in “opossums”?
“opossums” has 3 syllables: o · pos · sums.
Where is the stress in “opossums”?
The primary stress in “opossums” is on “POS”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “opossums” mean?
Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia.
How can I hear “opossums” used in real sentences?
This page has 36 real-world video examples of “opossums” 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 “opossums”?
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⁄).