How to Pronounce “psoriasis”

American (US)

/səˈraɪəsɪs/

British (UK)

/səˈraɪəsɪs/

noun — A chronic skin condition causing red, scaly patches.

Example: Cold weather makes his psoriasis worse.

The p is silent. “psoriasis” comes through Greek, where ps- was a single sound English never adopted. The p is dropped: the word begins on /s/.

Where the stress falls. “psoriasis” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /səˈraɪəsɪs/ 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. /səˈraɪəsɪs/ 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 "psoriasis" mean?

psoriasis (noun): A chronic skin condition causing red, scaly patches. For example — Cold weather makes his psoriasis worse.

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

Both accents use the same sequence of phonemes for "psoriasis", /səˈraɪəsɪs/, 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 "psoriasis"?

/səˈraɪəsɪs/ in American English, /səˈraɪəsɪs/ in British English.

Which syllable is stressed in "psoriasis"?

“psoriasis” has 4 syllables, and the transcription /səˈraɪəsɪs/ 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.

• Silent P words