How to pronounce primary in American English
PRAHY·meh·ree
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Americans pronounce primary as PRAHY-meh-ree (/ˈpraɪˌmɛri/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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"Solid, liquid, and gas are the three primary states of matter."
SAH·luhd LIH·kwuhd and GAS er dhuh THREE PRAHY·meh·ree STAYTS uhv MA·der
"The assignment required analyzing a primary historical document."
dhee uh·SAHYN·muhnt ruh·KWAHY·erd A·nuh·lahy·zuhng uh PRAHY·meh·ree huh·STOR·uh·kuhl DAH·kyuh·muhnt
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 PRAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
prahy·MEH·REE→PRAHY·MEH·ree
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "primary" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "PRAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "PRAHY-meh-ree" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "primary" 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 "PRAHY-meh-ree" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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