3 syllables: ci, ti, zen. Stress on ci.
SIT-uh-zuhn
/ˈsɪtəzən/
citizen is pronounced SIT-uh-zuhn (/ˈsɪtəzən/). It has three syllables (ci-ti-zen), with the stress on "ci". Citizen refers to a legally recognized member of a state or nation with rights and duties. It also denotes a person who shares in the benefits and responsibilities of membership in a community. The term emphasizes belonging, civic identity, and participation in public life.
Citizen refers to a legally recognized member of a state or nation with rights and duties. It also denotes a person who shares in the benefits and responsibilities of membership in a community. The term emphasizes belonging, civic identity, and participation in public life.
"As a citizen, you have the right to vote and the duty to obey local laws."
"The city honored its new citizens with a naturalization ceremony."
"She's proud to be a citizen of multiple cultural communities."
Pronounce as /ˈsɪtɪzən/. The stress is on the first syllable: CIS-ih-zən. Start with a short, lax sibilant /s/ followed by a compact /ɪ/ in the first vowel. The second syllable uses a reduced schwa /ə/ for the middle vowel, and the final /n/ is a clear alveolar nasal. Tip: keep the tongue-high-mid for /ɪ/ and avoid over-enunciating the second vowel; let it blend into the final /n/ for natural rhythm. Audio reference: listen to native speech on Pronounce or Forvo to feel the quick, unstressed second vowel.
Two frequent errors: 1) Pronouncing the second vowel as a full /i/ (sit-ee-zen) instead of a reduced /ɪ/ or /ə/; keep it short and relaxed. 2) Over-enunciating the final /z/ or /zən/ blend, making it sound like /zizən/. Instead, allow the middle vowel to relax and let the final /ən/ glide; avoid adding an extra vowel after /z/. Practice the sequence CIS-ih-zən with a light, quick transition between syllables.
In US English, /ˈsɪtɪzən/ with a non-rhotic or lightly rhotic ending depending on region’s r-color. In UK English, /ˈsɪtɪzən/ tends to be crisper with less vowel length in the first /ɪ/ and a quick, less esoteric second vowel. In Australian English, /ˈsɪtɪzən/ shows a more centralized /ɪ/ and a slightly broader jaw position on the first syllable; the final schwa can be more centralized. Across all, the stress remains on the first syllable; the final /ən/ tends to be a quick, soft ending.
The difficulty lies in the rapid sequence and vowel reduction: the first syllable must have a crisp /ɪ/ without becoming lax, while the second syllable uses a fast, reduced /ɪ/ or schwa; the /t/ is a light, almost clipped stop, not a heavy aspirated sound, and the final /zən/ requires gentle voicing leading into a soft /ən/. Mastery requires precise timing to keep each consonant audible without overemphasizing the middle vowel.
A unique aspect is the subtle reduction of the middle vowel and the quick, almost elided final syllable; you rarely hear a full vowel in the middle of the word; the natural flow comes from easing into the schwa and letting the final /ən/ coast rather than staying clearly engraved. This creates the characteristic, compact CIS-tiz-ən rhythm that native ears expect.
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US: rhotic, faster, more pronounced /ɹ/ and a brighter /ɪ/; UK: crisper consonants, less vowel length, non-rhotic in many accents, final /ən/ slightly softer; AU: more centralized /ɪ/, broader vowel shifts, slightly more rolled /t/, final /ən/ relaxed. IPA references: US /ˈsɪtɪzən/, UK /ˈsɪtɪzən/, AU /ˈsɪtɪzən/. For VA, try to keep the first /ɪ/ sharp; the middle can blur into a quick /ɪ/ or /ə/ depending on pace.
Citizen comes from the Old French citien, meaning a town dweller, which itself derives from Latin civitas, meaning city or state, and civis, meaning citizen. The root is civ-, related to city and governance (as in civility, civic). In medieval Latin, civitas referred to the body of citizens as a political community; in Old French, citien evolved to designate a person who belongs to a city or state. The earliest English usage appears in the 13th century, initially signifying a member of a city’s corporate populace, later broadening to national citizens. Over time, the sense expanded from urban status to legal membership with particular rights (e.g., suffrage, protection) and duties (e.g., taxes, allegiance). By the modern era, citizen generally denotes a legally recognized member of a country, encapsulating political rights, civic duties, and social belonging. The word has remained stable in core meaning, even as the specifics of citizenship have evolved with constitutions, naturalization processes, and evolving civil rights frameworks.
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Words that rhyme with "citizen"
-ten sounds
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