How to Pronounce “anemia”

American (US)

/əˈniːmiə/

British (UK)

/əˈniːmiə/

noun — A shortage of healthy red blood cells, causing tiredness and pallor.

Example: Iron tablets corrected the anemia.

Where the stress falls. “anemia” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /əˈniːmiə/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the second one — so the second syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /əˈniːmiə/ contains a schwa /ə/ — the short, neutral “uh” that English unstressed syllables collapse into. Saying /ə/ there, instead of the vowel the spelling suggests, is most of what makes the word sound native.

What does "anemia" mean?

anemia (noun): A shortage of healthy red blood cells, causing tiredness and pallor. For example — Iron tablets corrected the anemia.

How do you pronounce "anemia" in American vs British English?

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "anemia", /əˈniːmiə/, so the difference you hear is in how the vowels are coloured rather than in which sounds are used. Play both on this page to compare.

What is the IPA transcription of "anemia"?

/əˈniːmiə/ in American English, /əˈniːmiə/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "anemia"?

“anemia” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /əˈniːmiə/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the second one — so the second syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.