3 syllables: Co, ro, na. Stress on ro.
kur-OH-nuh
/kɚˈoʊnə/
Corona is pronounced kur-OH-nuh (/kɚˈoʊnə/). It has three syllables (Co-ro-na), with the stress on "ro". Corona is a two-syllable noun primarily referring to a crown or circular ring worn as a headpiece; in modern usage it also denotes the coronavirus or a period of peak airborne disease statistics. In astronomy, it simply means the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere. The term can appear in medical, cultural, and meteorological contexts, often with formal or technical tone.
nounCorona is a two-syllable noun primarily referring to a crown or circular ring worn as a headpiece; in modern usage it also denotes the coronavirus or a period of peak airborne disease statistics. In astronomy, it simply means the outermost part of the sun’s atmosphere. The term can appear in medical, cultural, and meteorological contexts, often with formal or technical tone.
"- The corona of a royal crown was intricately decorated."
"- Scientists mapped the solar corona during a total eclipse."
"- Health officials warned about the spread of the coronavirus known as COVID-19."
Corona is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈkɔːr.oʊ.nə/ in US usage, which sounds like KOAR-oh-nuh. In IPA terms: US /ˈkɔːr.oʊ.nə/, UK /ˈkɒr.ə.nə/, AU /ˈkɔː.rə.nə/. The first syllable carries the main emphasis; the middle syllable is a light, unstressed /oʊ/ in US, while other accents may reduce it. Visualize the sequence KOHR-uh-nuh, with a rounded back vowel in the first syllable and a clear final schwa. You’ll hear a light linking between the middle and final syllables when spoken smoothly.
Two frequent errors: 1) misplacing the stress on the second syllable, saying co-RO-na; 2) mispronouncing the first vowel as a short ‘o’ (like CO-rə-nə in some learners’ varieties) instead of the long or rounded /ɔː/ as in KOAR. To correct: emphasize the first syllable with a fuller back rounded vowel /ɔː/, then lightly connect to the unstressed middle /oʊ/ or /ə/ depending on accent, ending with a neutral /ə/ in the final syllable.
US tends to use /ˈkɔːr.oʊ.nə/ with a pronounced first syllable and a diphthong in the second; UK often shows /ˈkɒ.rən.ə/ or /ˈkɒrə.nə/ with a shorter first vowel and a more schwa-like ending; Australian tends toward /ˈkɒː.rə.nə/ with a broader vowel in the first syllable and a reduced mid syllable. The main differences lie in the vowel length and quality in the first syllable and the degree of rhotacism or vowel reduction in the middle and final syllables.
The challenge lies in balancing a tense back vowel /ɔː/ in the first syllable with a light, unstressed middle and final syllable, and in some dialects, the presence or absence of rhoticity changes how you articulate the middle and final sounds. Learners may also struggle with the subtle shift from /ɔː/ to /oʊ/ or /ə/ in rapid speech and with preserving the crisp initial consonant cluster /kr-/ when followed by a vowel.
Because Corona involves a closed-to-open twofold syllable transition with a heavy first vowel, a common unique question is how to handle the /r/ in the first syllable across regions. You’ll want a clear, rounded /ɔː/ followed by a lightly audible /r/ before the second syllable, with the final schwa kept soft. Emphasize the transition from consonant cluster to a vowel, avoiding a hard, abrupt stop between syllables.
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Corona comes from the Latin corona meaning 'crown, garland, circle,' which itself is related to cornu ‘horn’ via shared Indo-European roots emphasizing circularity and projection. In Latin, corona referred to a crown or surrounding circle, and by medieval Latin it extended to a halo and outer ring. The term entered scientific vocabulary in astronomy and biology to describe ring-like structures and halo phenomena; in virology and public health it gained modern, global prominence with the naming of the coronavirus family, culminating in widespread usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The word’s earliest known uses trace to classical Latin texts describing crowns and circular shapes, and it was adopted into English by the Renaissance to describe ornamental halos. The pronunciation in English settled into two beats for many speakers, reflecting its Latin-semantic heritage and the stress pattern common to borrowed multi-syllable words.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Corona" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Corona"
-ora sounds
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