How to Pronounce “nausea”

American (US)

/ˈnɔːziə/

British (UK)

/ˈnɔːziə/

noun — The feeling of sickness that comes before vomiting.

Example: The medication caused mild nausea.

Where the stress falls. “nausea” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈnɔːziə/ 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. /ˈnɔːziə/ 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 "nausea" mean?

nausea (noun): The feeling of sickness that comes before vomiting. For example — The medication caused mild nausea.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "nausea", /ˈnɔːziə/, 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 "nausea"?

/ˈnɔːziə/ in American English, /ˈnɔːziə/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "nausea"?

“nausea” has 3 syllables, and the transcription /ˈnɔːziə/ 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.

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