2 syllables: car, toons. Stress on car.
/ˈkɑɹtuːnz/
Say it backCartoons are animated illustrations or films that convey stories or humor through moving images. The term often refers to short, humorous animations or comic-style drawings designed for entertainment. In modern usage, it can also describe playful, exaggerated visuals used in media or advertising.
"I watched several old cartoons last night with my kids."
"The political cartoonist published a cartoon that went viral online."
"Her sketchbook is filled with colorful cartoons and character designs."
Pronounce as KAR-toonz in US and UK, with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈkɑr.tunz/; UK /ˈkɑː.tənz/; AU /ˈkɑː.tuːnz/. Start with an open back low vowel for /kɑr/ (jaw dropped, lips relaxed), then a light diphthong-ending /tunz/. You’ll feel the tongue drop slightly after the first syllable, finishing with a voiced nasal /n/ and a clear /z/ or /z/ at the end depending on rapid speech. Listen for the slight vowel length change before the final consonant.
Common errors include merging the syllables into one smooth block without a distinct first syllable stress, saying /ˈkɑːtənz/ instead of /ˈkɑr.tunz/ in American speech, and mispronouncing the final /z/ as a /s/ in rapid speech. Correct by preserving a clear /ɑr/ cluster in the first syllable and making the second syllable a closed /tunz/ with a voiced /z/. Practice by isolating /kɑr/ and /tunz/ and then blending.
In US English, expect rhotic /r/ in the first syllable and a clear /z/ at the end: /ˈkɑr.tunz/. UK English tends to reduce the first vowel length and may exhibit a lighter /t/ or /tənz/ ending, often closer to /ˈkɑː.tənz/ with non-rhoticity affecting the /r/. Australian English mirrors US rhoticity but can show vowel quality shifts, with /ˈkɑː.tuːnz/ or /ˈkɑː.tənz/ depending on speaker. Emphasis remains on the first syllable in all cases.
The difficulty centers on transitioning from the stressed /kɑr/ portion to the lighter, sibilant-end /tunz/ cluster, plus maintaining a voiced end sound in rapid speech. Learners often misplace stress or collapse the two-syllable rhythm into a single syllable, and may mispronounce the final /z/ as /s/ or omit it in fast speech. Focus on a crisp syllable boundary and a voiced /z/ ending.
A unique aspect is the vowel transition from /ɑr/ to the /t/ onset of the second syllable, requiring a brief alveolar stop release before the /t/ and the following /unz/ sound. This smooth transition helps preserve the two-syllable rhythm typical of cartoons in natural speech, avoiding a clipped, single-syllable feel.
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The word cartoon originated in the late 13th century from the Italian cartone, meaning a heavy paper or a full-size preparatory drawing. In Italian Renaissance workshops, a cartone was a large, bold drawing transferred to plaster to guide mural painting; artists used the term for a full-scale preparatory study. By the 18th century, English speakers adopted cartoon to mean a life-sized drawing or design on paper. In the 19th and 20th centuries, with the rise of satirical magazines and comic strips, cartoon broadened to mean humorous drawings or illustrations, and by mid-20th century, with the advent of animation, cartoon increasingly referred to animated films and characters. The shift from a preparatory study to a standalone entertainment medium reflects the expansion from static to moving images, while retaining the core sense of playful, exaggerated, stylized illustration. First known uses appear in English print in the 1800s, with popularization in newspapers and magazines as caricatures and comic drawings. With technology, cartoons evolved into animated shorts, television series, and feature films, establishing today’s broad meaning that encompasses both drawings and animation.
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Words that rhyme with "cartoons"
-nts sounds
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