How to pronounce "transistor" in English
trænˈzɪstər
tran·ZIS·tər
Primary stress: ZIS
Hear native speakers say transistor in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “transistor”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
tran
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
ZIS
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
tər
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("ZIS"). 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 "transistor" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "transistor is" sounds like "transistor-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "transistor" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“transistor uh uh which was this uh powerful 10 dB amplifier uh that you see here uh which turns out”— StanfordWatch clip
“transistor radios to the men-- to get the men to get sterilized and that was wonderful but who got sterilized, the old men that weren't going”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“transistor raiders and t-shirts, but within an year they were making high-tech things and it was a money was”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“transistor density on chip sets.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“transistor works and I don't think that that in those days I had any”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“transistor we don't know right we think it'll be at least that long maybe longer this time for them to be able to produce they've kind of said it's about 3 or 4”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “transistor”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
transistor uh uh which was this uh powerful 10 dB amplifier uh that you see here uh which turns out
Hear it in context: “transistor”
885 clipsThe English word “transistor” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as trænˈzɪstər (phonetic respelling: tran-ZIS-tər). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (tran · ZIS · tər), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (ZIS). Grammatically, “transistor” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 885 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “transistor” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from Stanford, YaleCourses.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USStanfordClip #1 · @52:59
“uh in 1996, and we had just uh uh produced our first circuit with a transistor uh uh which was this uh powerful 10 dB amplifier uh that you see here uh which turns out powerful 10 dB amplifier uh that you see here uh which turns out”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #2 · @72:14
“coercion, some of it is incentive like transistor radios to the men-- to get the men to get sterilized and that was wonderful but who got sterilized, the old men that weren't going sterilized and that was wonderful but who got”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @2:08
“behind the times. They were making transistor raiders and t-shirts, but within an year they were making high-tech things and it was a money was within an year they were making”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @13:48
“fallen at even a faster rate than uh transistor density on chip sets. But very unrelated, on the upper left-hand side, Swanson's law for solar panels. Uh very unrelated, on the upper left-hand”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @6:16
“had which has always stayed with me but I had a very naive model of like how a transistor works and I don't think that that in those days I had any understanding of coils and capacitors which which actually sort of was a major”
Definition & Meaning: “transistor”
- A solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals, which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation, and many other functions.
- A transistor radio.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Switches and transistors control the flow of electricity like valves and faucets control water. Resistors limit the flow of electricity. […] Light is transmitted from the color LED, through the fiber optic cable, to control the NPN transistor (Q2) and red LED (D1).”
- “Turn your transistor on and let the music play”
- “transistor uh uh which was this uh powerful 10 dB amplifier uh that you see here uh which turns out”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “transistor”
- Pronunciation:
- tran-ZIS-tər
- Syllables:
- tran · ZIS · tər
- Written Hyphenation:
- tran · sis · tor
- Primary stress:
- ZIS
- IPA:
- trænˈzɪstər
- Hear it in context
- transistor
Words that Rhyme with “transistor”
-ɪstərWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"transistor" (⁄trænˈzɪstər⁄) 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, "transistor" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about transistor
How do you pronounce “transistor”?
“transistor” is pronounced ⁄trænˈzɪstər⁄ (tran-ZIS-tər). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “transistor”?
“transistor” has 3 syllables: tran · ZIS · tər.
Where is the stress in “transistor”?
The primary stress in “transistor” is on “ZIS”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “transistor” mean?
A solid-state semiconductor device, with three terminals, which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation, and many other functions.
How can I hear “transistor” used in real sentences?
This page has 885 real-world video examples of “transistor” 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 “transistor”?
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⁄).