How to Pronounce “business”

American (US)

/ˈbɪznəs/

British (UK)

/ˈbɪznəs/

noun — A specific commercial enterprise or establishment.

Example: I left my father's business.

Where the stress falls. “business” has 2 syllables, and the transcription /ˈbɪznəs/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /ˈbɪznəs/ 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 "business" mean?

business (noun): A specific commercial enterprise or establishment. For example — I left my father's business.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "business", /ˈbɪznəs/, 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 "business"?

/ˈbɪznəs/ in American English, /ˈbɪznəs/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "business"?

“business” has 2 syllables, and the transcription /ˈbɪznəs/ puts the primary stress mark (ˈ) before the first one — so the first syllable is the longest and loudest. The others are said quickly and lightly.

How to Pronounce Business English — Meeting Words, With Audio

Especially, colleague, receipt, schedule and advantageous — the silent p, the phantom x, and the US/UK splits that surface in every meeting.

• Words that lose a syllable