2 syllables: four, teenth. Stress on four.
/ˈfɔɹˌtiːnθ/
Say it backFourteenth denotes the ordinal number or sequence position immediately after the thirteenth. It represents the ordinal form of 'fourteen' and is used to indicate order, dates, or ranks (e.g., the fourteenth of February). The pronunciation emphasizes the final /θ/ sound followed by /n/ in a stressed syllable, shaping the overall rhythm of the word in connected speech.
"We will meet on the fourteenth of July."
"The fourteenth amendment is often cited in legal discussions."
"She finished in the fourteenth place after a tight sprint."
Say /ˈfɔːrˌtiːnθ/ in US/UK style, with primary stress on the first syllable. In careful speech, there is a stress shift that gives the second syllable a lighter feel, producing /ˈfɔːrˌtiːnθ/. Ensure the interdental /θ/ in the final syllable is audible, followed immediately by the nasal /n/ before the /θ/? Wait—correct sequence: four-
Common errors include substituting /fɔːr/ with /fɔː/ in non-rhotic accents, dropping the final /θ/ or turning it into /f/ or /s/, and misplacing the stress so it isn’t clearly on the first syllable. To correct: articulate the /r/ as a distinct rhotic or non-rhotic variant depending on your accent, maintain the /t/ crispness before the /iː/, and finish with a clear interdental fricative /θ/. Practice with minimal pairs like four/for, th-, thought.
In US English, expect a pronounced /r/ before the /tiːnθ/, with a clear /t/–/iː/ sequence and a precise /θ/; in many UK accents, /r/ is non-rhotic, so the onset may sound like /ˈfɔːt iːn θ/ with a weaker r-sound, but the /θ/ remains. Australian English tends to be rhotic but with a softer /t/ and sometimes a glottal stop before /n/ in casual speech. All share /ˈfɔːrtiːnθ/ as a basis, but vowel length, rhoticity, and t-voicing may vary slightly.
The difficulty centers on the cluster /t iː n θ/ sequence and the interdental fricative /θ/ after a long vowel, which many non-native speakers mispronounce as /s/ or /t/ alone. Additionally, the syllable break can be tricky in connected speech: four-eenth vs fourteenth. Mastery requires precise tongue placement: the tongue tip near the upper teeth for /θ/, the front of the tongue for /t/, and a crisp /n/ after the dental fricative.
A unique feature is the convergence of the /r/ sound with a following /t/ in rhotic accents, creating a subtle relaxation before the /t/ in some speakers. Also, the combination of /tiːn/ (teen) with /θ/ at the end is a rare triplet in English ordinals, requiring careful articulation: /tiːnθ/ with a clean dental + nasal transition.
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The word fourteenth comes from Middle English fourteenth, from Old English fēowertīene (indicating the number fourteen) with the suffix -theaft or -teont? The modern suffix -teenth derives from Old English -tīene, a derivational ending used to form ordinals, linked to the Proto-Germanic *-taiwan- or *-tēwan-, indicating a sequence. The root four is from Proto-Germanic *fouri-, cognate with Old Saxon furi, Dutch veertien, German vierzehn. The formative process involved assimilation from cardinal fourteen (four + -teen) to the ordinal form by adding -teenth, aligning with other ordinals like thirteenth and fifteenth. The earliest attestations appear in Old English and early Middle English texts, with stable spelling by the 13th century. Over time, pronunciation shifted, particularly the assimilation of /r/ and the /θ/ cluster with an /n/ onset, yielding the current pronunciation patterns in modern English. The word has remained relatively stable in semantic scope but has diversified in usage across legal, literary, and calendrical contexts, cementing its place in standard ordinal lexicon.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "fourteenth" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "fourteenth"
-ast sounds
-sed sounds
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