k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce company in American English
KUHM·puh·nee
Start here
Americans pronounce company as KUHM-puh-nee (/ˈkʌmpəni/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Our company has a budget for lunch" or "The company produces consumer electronics" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "company".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
In real conversation
Hear "company" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He signed a non-disclosure agreement before joining the company."
hee SAHYND uh NAHN duh·SKLOH·zher uh·GREE·muhnt buh·FOR JOY·nuhng dhuh KUHM·puh·nee
"He sued the company for violation of his civil rights."
hee SOOD dhuh KUHM·puh·nee fer vahy·uh·LAY·shuhn uhv hihz SIH·vuhl RAHYTS
"I encourage you to seek out mentorship opportunities within the company."
ahy uhn·KUR·ihj yoo tuh SEEK OWT MEHN·ter·shihp ah·per·TOO·nuh·teez wih·DHIHN dhuh KUHM·puh·nee
"I was surprised to hear about the changes at your company."
ahy wuhz ser·PRAHYZD tuh HEER uh·BOWT dhuh CHAYN·juhz uht yer KUHM·puh·nee
"Let me highlight the main benefits of partnering with our company."
LEHT mee HAHY·lahyt dhuh MAYN BEH·nuh·fuhts uhv PART·ner·uhng wihth ar KUHM·puh·nee
"Our company has a budget for lunch."
OWR KUHM·puh·nee huhz uh BUH·juht fer LUHNCH
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KUHM — keep everything else short and quick.
kuhm·PUH·NEE→KUHM·puh·nee
02
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
KUHM·PUH·nee→KUHM·puh·nee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "company" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KUHM" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KUHM-puh-nee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "company" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "KUHM-puh-nee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "company" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "KUHM-puh-nee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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