How to pronounce "woman" in English
ˈwʊmən
WUU·mən
Primary stress: WUU
Hear native speakers say woman in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “woman”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
WUU
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
mən
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the first syllable ("WUU"). 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 "woman" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "woman is" sounds like "woman-iz").
In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "woman" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“woman named jimmy babbitt who's an incredible comedy director uh who i worked with very briefly on gilmore girls like”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“woman I'm so cool right no but you know and so I was like I this is very new to”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“woman who um took Meta and other companies to court and the other companies I think ended up settling.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“woman that young Sarafina would have wanted to see um you know when she was a kid awesome and related to visibility is another topic that you you bring up in the book as well of uh imposter syndrome”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“woman who has maybe made peace with some of her demons, um enjoys movement, knows that it's a”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“woman who said you tell me no not today not today and and that's what I want I”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “woman”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
woman named jimmy babbitt who's an incredible comedy director uh who i worked with very briefly on gilmore girls like
Hear it in context: “woman”
45,605 clipsThe English word “woman” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ˈwʊmən (phonetic respelling: WUU-mən). Phonologically, it consists of 2 syllables (WUU · mən), with primary lexical stress placed on the 1st (initial) syllable (WUU). Grammatically, “woman” functions as a noun, verb and acts as an English heteronym where syllable stress shifts between noun (initial-syllable stress) and verb (second-syllable stress) usage. SayItVid indexes 45,605 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “woman” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USClip #1 · @27:28
“is uh the director of that episode is a woman named jimmy babbitt who's an incredible comedy director uh who i worked with very briefly on gilmore girls like incredible”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @30:39
“let's face it I'm a 59 59y old cisgender woman I'm so cool right no but you know and so I was like I this is very new to and so I was like I this is very new to”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @25:49
“bigger one as well which was a young woman who um took Meta and other companies to court and the other companies I think ended up settling. companies to court and the other”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @19:47
“see yourself in something it's very hard to be in it um and yeah I mean I I try to be in short the woman that young Sarafina would have wanted to see um you know when she was a kid awesome and related to visibility is another topic that you you bring up in the book as well of uh imposter syndrome to visibility is another topic that you you bring up in the book as well of uh imposter syndrome”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @18:01
“the dialed in Diana. So this is the woman who has maybe made peace with some of her demons, um enjoys movement, knows that it's a maybe made peace with some of her”
Definition & Meaning: “woman”
- An adult female human.
- All female humans collectively; womankind.
- To staff with female labor.
- To make effeminate or womanish.
Example Sentences (3)
- “the first woman president of Spain”
- “THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
- “woman named jimmy babbitt who's an incredible comedy director uh who i worked with very briefly on gilmore girls like”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “woman”
- Pronunciation:
- WUU-mən
- Syllables:
- WUU · mən
- Written Hyphenation:
- wom · an
- Primary stress:
- WUU
- IPA:
- ˈwʊmən
- Hear it in context
- woman
Words that Rhyme with “woman”
-ʊmənWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"woman" (⁄ˈwʊmən⁄) 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, "woman" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about woman
How do you pronounce “woman”?
“woman” is pronounced ⁄ˈwʊmən⁄ (WUU-mən). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “woman”?
“woman” has 2 syllables: WUU · mən.
Where is the stress in “woman”?
The primary stress in “woman” is on “WUU”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “woman” mean?
An adult female human.
How can I hear “woman” used in real sentences?
This page has 45605 real-world video examples of “woman” 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 “woman”?
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⁄).