How to Pronounce “diagnosis”

American (US)

/daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/

British (UK)

/daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/

noun — The identification of an illness from its symptoms and test results.

Example: The diagnosis took three appointments to confirm.

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

An unstressed vowel reduces to schwa. /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ 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 "diagnosis" mean?

diagnosis (noun): The identification of an illness from its symptoms and test results. For example — The diagnosis took three appointments to confirm.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "diagnosis", /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/, 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 "diagnosis"?

/daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ in American English, /daɪəɡˈnəʊsɪs/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "diagnosis"?

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

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