m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce memorandum in American English
meh·muh·RAN·duhm
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Americans pronounce memorandum as meh-muh-RAN-duhm (/ˌmɛməˈrændəm/). In "memorandum", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. This is called the Cat-Vowel Before M/N, the kind of sound shift that makes everyday speech feel effortless. It comes out as MEH·muh·RAN·duhm. Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She drafted a memorandum of understanding for the partnership".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "memorandum".
4 syllables, 10 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
r/r/
SyllabicThe schwa before R disappears — R becomes the vowel of the syllable. This is the 'er' sound without a distinct vowel before it.
a/æ/
NasalizedThe tongue relaxes down in the back and the corners of the lips relax before the consonant. This adds a schwa-like 'uh' relaxation after the /æ/. Think of it as 'relaxing out of the vowel' — it is no longer a pure /æ/ sound.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
SyllabicThe schwa before M disappears — M becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to M.
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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
Pronouncing the vowel before M/N too pure.
In "memorandum", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. The "/æ/" vowel raises and fronts before M or N — tongue pulls up and forward, producing a tense [eə] glide (between /e/ and /ə/). Not a pure /æ/.
meh-muh-RAN-duhm→MEH·muh·RAN·duhm
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "memorandum", the short unstressed vowel before "m" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "m" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
memorandum→MEH·muh·RAN·duhm
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch RAN — keep everything else short and quick.
MEH·MUH·ran·DUHM→MEH·muh·RAN·duhm
04
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.
meh·MUH·RAN·duhm→MEH·muh·RAN·duhm
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "memorandum" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the third syllable — say "RAN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "meh-muh-RAN-duhm" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "memorandum" 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 "meh-muh-RAN-duhm" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "memorandum" 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 "meh-muh-RAN-duhm" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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