Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lenis

/ˈliːnɪs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.45 in modern English

Syllables: le-nis
IPA: /ˈliːnɪs/

5

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Relatively weakly articulated, hence unaspirated and possibly voiced; especially as compared to the others of a group of homorganic consonants.

noun

A lenis consonant.

name

Example Sentences

"Unaspirated [p] is lenis in Danish, the corresponding fortis consonant being [pʰ]. The same sound is fortis in French, the corresponding lenis consonant being [b]."
"All vowels, whether short or complex, are relatively shorter when followed by a fortis consonant and relatively longer when followed by a lenis one or, for those where this is possible, when no consonant follows (in free or unchecked syllables)."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lēnis (“soft, smooth”).

Inflected Forms

lenes (plural) Lenises (plural)

Derived Forms

lenition

Synonyms

lax

Antonyms

fortis

Rhymes With

venus genus intravenous venous salinas minas enos cardenas dominus malvinas penis benis

Questions

How do you pronounce lenis?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈliːnɪs/.
What does lenis mean?: Relatively weakly articulated, hence unaspirated and possibly voiced; especially as compared to the others of a group of homorganic consonants.
Where does lenis come from?: Borrowed from Latin lēnis (“soft, smooth”).

How to pronounce lenis

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