2 syllables: friend, ships. Stress on friend.
FREND-ships
/ˈfɹɛndʃɪps/
friendships is pronounced FREND-ships (/ˈfɹɛndʃɪps/). It has two syllables (friend-ships), with the stress on "friend". Friendships refer to the bonds, affections, and reciprocal obligations formed between individuals in a social circle. They embody mutual support, trust, and shared experiences, extending beyond casual acquaintance to provide companionship and social capital. In practice, friendships influence personal well-being, communication patterns, and how you navigate conflicts and celebrations within a community.
Friendships refer to the bonds, affections, and reciprocal obligations formed between individuals in a social circle. They embody mutual support, trust, and shared experiences, extending beyond casual acquaintance to provide companionship and social capital. In practice, friendships influence personal well-being, communication patterns, and how you navigate conflicts and celebrations within a community.
- mispronounce the initial 'fri' as /friː/ instead of /frɛn/; ensure the short ɛ vowel is accurate. - drop the /d/ in 'friend' before the /ʃ/, creating /frɛnˌʃɪps/ instead of /frendˌʃɪps/. - over-emphasize the final 'ships' leading to /ˈfrɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/ with too much spooning; aim for a smooth /ʃɪps/ rather than a hard consonant cluster.
"She maintained close friendships with colleagues after moving to a new city."
"The workshop helped students build friendships across cultural divides."
"Loneliness diminished as his friendships deepened over the semester."
Pronounce as /ˈfrɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/. The primary stress is on the first syllable 'friend,' with a secondary, lighter stress before the final /ʃɪps/ cluster. The /d/ in 'friend' is often lightly released or assimilated into the following /ʃ/. The sequence flows as /ˈfrɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/, and in connected speech the /d/ may be almost silent: /ˈfrɛn(ə)ˌʃɪps/. Audio reference: see Cambridge or Forvo recordings for natural linking.
Common errors include: 1) Not fully releasing the /d/ in 'friend' before the /ʃ/ cluster, leading to a /frɛn-ʃɪps/ instead of /frɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/. 2) Misplacing stress, saying /ˈfriːndˌʃɪps/ or distributing stress too evenly; keep primary stress on the first syllable and a lighter secondary stress before /ʃɪps/. 3) Vowel reduction: de-emphasizing the /ɛ/ in /frɛn/ or replacing with /ɪ/; aim for a clear /ɛ/ in stressed syllable. Practice with minimal pairs to maintain accurate vowel quality.
In US/UK/AU, the core /ˈfrɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/ skeleton remains, but rhoticity differs. US and AU are rhotic, so the /r/ is either silent or lightly touched in the 'friend' when followed by a consonant; in careful speech you might hear /ˈfrɛn(d)ˌʃɪps/ with a light /r/ or none. UK is typically non-rhotic, so a subtle offglide may occur before the /ʃ/ and the /r/ is not pronounced. Vowel quality in /ɛ/ can be slightly more open in American English; AU tends toward non-rhotic but with some linking vowels, depending on region.
Difficulties stem from the cluster /ndʃ/ across the word boundary and the fast transition into /ɪps/. The /dr/-> /d/ smoothness and the sandhi between the /d/ and /ʃ/ can cause mispronunciations like /frɛnˌʃɪps/ or /frɪndˌʃɪps/. Also, the second syllable contains a reduced vowel with a secondary stress, which can be hard to perceive in rapid speech.
There are no silent letters in the standard pronunciation, but you may encounter a subtle syllable reduction where the /d/ is lightly released or almost dropped in fluent speech, giving /ˈfrɛnˌʃɪps/ for some speakers. Emphasize the /d/ lightly to maintain consonant clarity before the /ʃ/.
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- US: keep rhotic /r/ soft or linked; ensure /ɹ/ is tongue blade raised, not bunched. - UK: non-rhotic tendency, keep /r/ silent and keep vowel qualities slightly tenser in /frɛn/. - AU: more vowel reduction in unstressed syllables; watch linking between /n/ and /ʃ/ to avoid a distinct /n/ before /ʃ/.
The word friendships traces back to Old English friþ, meaning peace, safety, or alliance, combined with -ship, a suffix denoting state or condition. The earliest sense was “the state of being a friþman or ally,” evolving through Middle English as frienship, then friendship, to denote the mutual bond between associates or allies. The term has long carried social meaning beyond mere companionship, implying loyalty, trust, and obligation. In early usage, it appeared in legal and communal contexts describing reciprocal obligations within bands or communities. The semantic shift toward personal relationships solidified in the 17th–18th centuries, paralleling the broadened concept of friendship itself. While “friendship” can denote a single bond, “friendships” emphasizes the plurality of social ties and the network of supportive relationships one maintains. The morphological pluralization simply marks multiple bonds, reflecting social granularity in modern usage. First known written attestations appear in Middle English and Early Modern English texts, with more explicit modern senses emerging in the 18th and 19th centuries as literacy and social networks expanded.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "friendships" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "friendships"
-ips sounds
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