How to pronounce "second century" in English
ˌsɛk.əntˈsɛn.tʃə.ri
sek·ənt·SEN·chə·ree
Primary stress: SEN
Hear native speakers say second century in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “second century”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
sek
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
ənt
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
SEN
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
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: 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 "second century" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "second century is" sounds like "second century-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "second century" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“beginning of the second century, in which an author talks about the Corinthians as being an ancient and great church.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“Second century Greek philosopher Hierocles model of of concern describes the stoic philosophy of cosmopolitanism,”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“John around the second century, and ever since then, as Cory noted, there has been the apocalyptic trend embedded”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“second century bc by council guys marius implementing the significant marian reforms of the roman military”— Simple HistoryWatch clip
“the second century AD Regensburg is one of the oldest cities in Germany in 2006”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“in the second century um Carl Young Myers Briggs the anram a great many”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “second century”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
beginning of the second century, in which an author talks about the Corinthians as being an ancient and great church.
Hear it in context: “second century”
272 clipsThe English word “second century” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˌsɛk.əntˈsɛn.tʃə.ri (phonetic respelling: sek-ənt-SEN-chə-ree). Phonologically, it consists of 5 syllables (sek · ənt · SEN · chə · ree), with primary lexical stress placed on the 3rd syllable (SEN). Grammatically, “second century” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 272 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “second century” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from YaleCourses, TEDx Talks, Simple History.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #1 · @45:41
“Rome around the end of the first century, beginning of the second century, in which an author talks about the Corinthians as being an ancient and great church. talks about the Corinthians as being an ancient and great”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #2 · @4:47
“and sense of belonging as face to face connections. Second century Greek philosopher Hierocles model of of concern describes the stoic philosophy of cosmopolitanism, of concern describes the stoic philosophy of cosmopolitanism,”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @8:17
“Christian eschatology came up with the Revelation of St. John around the second century, and ever since then, as Cory noted, there has been the apocalyptic trend embedded as Cory noted, there has been the apocalyptic trend embedded”
- 🇺🇸 USSimple HistoryClip #4 · @0:38
“roman empire was established in the late second century bc by council guys marius implementing the significant marian reforms of the roman military implementing the significant marian”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @31:05
“the main city gate testified to Oregons Berg's time as a Roman legion camp in the second century AD Regensburg is one of the oldest cities in Germany in 2006 the entire old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourists”
Definition & Meaning: “second century”
- The historical time period or century comprising the years 101 to 200 AD.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Many important philosophical texts were written during the secondcentury.”
- “beginning of the second century, in which an author talks about the Corinthians as being an ancient and great church.”
- “Second century Greek philosopher Hierocles model of of concern describes the stoic philosophy of cosmopolitanism,”
Pronounce: “second century”
- Pronunciation:
- sek-ənt-SEN-chə-ree
- Syllables:
- sek · ənt · SEN · chə · ree
- Written Hyphenation:
- sec · ond · cen · tu · ry
- Primary stress:
- SEN
- IPA:
- ˌsɛk.əntˈsɛn.tʃə.ri
- Hear it in context
- second century
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"second century" (⁄ˌsɛk.əntˈsɛn.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, "second century" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about second century
How do you pronounce “second century”?
“second century” is pronounced ⁄ˌsɛk.əntˈsɛn.tʃə.ri⁄ (sek-ənt-SEN-chə-ree). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “second century”?
“second century” has 5 syllables: sek · ənt · SEN · chə · ree.
Where is the stress in “second century”?
The primary stress in “second century” is on “SEN”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “second century” mean?
The historical time period or century comprising the years 101 to 200 AD.
How can I hear “second century” used in real sentences?
This page has 272 real-world video examples of “second 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 “second century”?
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⁄).