Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pneumonia

/nuˈmoʊniə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.74 in modern English

Syllables: pneu-mo-nia
IPA: /nuˈmoʊniə/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious microorganisms.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"He had always been remarkably immune from such little ailments, and had only once in his life been ill, of a vicious pneumonia long ago at school."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πνευμονία (pneumonía, “lung disease”), from πνεύμων (pneúmōn, “lung”) + -ία (-ía).

Word Breakdown

Root: *plew-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /nuˈmoʊniə/
British English: /njuˈməʊniə/

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

pneumonias (plural) pneumoniæ (plural) pneumoniae (plural)

Derived Forms

bronchopneumonia hydropneumonia metapneumonia peripneumonia pleuropneumonia pneumoniac pneumonialike typhopneumonia

Phrases

atypical pneumonia bilateral pneumonia double pneumonia idiopathic pneumonia syndrome lobar pneumonia pneumococcal pneumonia pneumocystis pneumonia single pneumonia

Rhymes With

ammonia catalonia sonya livonia begonia valonia

Questions

How do you pronounce pneumonia?: The recorded pronunciation is /nuˈmoʊniə/.
What does pneumonia mean?: Inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious microorganisms.
Where does pneumonia come from?: From Ancient Greek πνευμονία (pneumonía, “lung disease”), from πνεύμων (pneúmōn, “lung”) + -ία (-ía).

How to pronounce pneumonia

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pneumonia”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/nuˈmoʊniə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pneumonia”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pneumonia” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.