Have you ever seen the word “often” and wondered how to pronounce it? In this blog post, we’ll show you how to say “often” correctly!
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Break down the word “often”
“Often” is pronounced “off-en.” It is a two-syllable word with the stress on the first syllable. The “t” is silent, and the “en” sounds like “un.”
The word “often” is made up of two syllables
The word “often” is made up of two syllables: “of” and “ten.” The stress is on the first syllable, “of.” To pronounce “often,” start by saying the word “off.” Then, add a slight “t” sound before you finish the word with an “n” sound. The word “often” can also be pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, “ten.” In this case, the word sounds like it is spelled “aw-fen.”
The first syllable is pronounced “of”
The word “often” is pronounced like “of-ten.” The first syllable is pronounced like the word “of,” and the second syllable is pronounced like the word “ten.”
The second syllable is pronounced “ten”
O – ften
The “o” in “often” is pronounced like the “o” in “hot,” “dog,” and “fog.” The main difference is that the “o” in “often” is shorter because it’s followed by two consonants, which we’ll talk about next.
The first syllable, “of,” is a bit tricky because it’s not pronounced how you might expect. In this case, the “f” isn’t pronounced at all. So, you just say the vowel sound, which in this case is the short “o” sound. The result should sound something like “uhft-uhn.”
Next, we have the consonant cluster “-ft.” This can be a bit tricky to pronounce, so let’s break it down. First, you have the voiceless labiodental fricative, which is pronounced by placing your top teeth against your bottom lip and making a short puff of air. This should produce a sound something like “ff.” Then, you add the voiceless alveolar stop, which is made by touching the tip of your tongue to the top of your mouth just behind your top teeth and stopping the airflow. This should produce a sound something like hard “t.” Finally, you add nasalization by allowing a little bit of air to escape through your nose while you’re pronouncing these sounds. When all these sounds are put together quickly, they should produce a sound something like “/ft/.” So far, we have something that sounds like “/uhft-/.”
The final syllable “-en” is also a consonant cluster made up of two sounds: an alveolar stop and an alveolar nasal. To make the stop sound, touch the tip of your tongue to the top of your mouth just behind your top teeth and stop all airflow. This should produce a sound somewhat similar to hard “t” or “d” without actually producing either one of those sounds completely. To add nasalization, allow some air to escape through your nose while you’re pronouncing this sound. The result should be something similar to “/nn/” or “/nd/,” but again without actually producing either one of those completely. When these two sounds are put together quickly in this syllable, they produce a final sound somewhat similar to “/n/,” but with a little bit more emphasis than usual on the stop component./
Pronounce “often”
The word “often” is pronounced “OHT-fen.” The “t” is silent, so it sounds like you’re saying “offen.” The emphasis is placed on the first syllable, “OHT.” “Often” is a homonym, which means it has the same pronunciation as another word but a different meaning. The other word is “oft,” which is an adverb meaning “frequently.”
The word “often” is pronounced “of-ten”
“Often” is pronounced “of-ten.” The main stress is on the second syllable, “ten.” The first syllable, “of,” is unstressed. To pronounce “often,” start by saying the word “off,” then add the “-en” sound. This word is often misspelled as “oftentimes” or “oftens.”
The word “often” is stressed on the first syllable
In standard American English, the word “often” is stressed on the first syllable. This is different from the way it’s used in some other English dialects, where the stress is on the second syllable.
If you’re not sure how to pronounce “often,” just say it like this: “OFF-ten.” The main thing to remember is that the stress goes on the first syllable. After you practice saying it a few times, it should be easy to remember.
Use “often” in a sentence
“Often” is a word that is used frequently (haha, get it?). It is pronounced “off-ten.” Here is an example sentence using the word “often”: I often go to the movies on weekends.
I often go to the movies on Fridays.
I often go to the movies on Fridays. You can use “often” to describe how frequently you do something.
I’m often late for work.
I’m often late for work.
I often forget to turn off the lights.
The word “often” is used to describe how frequently something happens. It can be used as an adverb or a verb. Here are some examples of how to use “often” in a sentence:
I often forget to turn off the lights.
She often leaves her shoes in the middle of the floor.
I’m often late for work.
When do you usually/often have breakfast?
