3 syllables: fu, se, lage. Stress on fu.
FYOO-suh-lahj
/ˈfjusəˌlɑdʒ/
fuselage is pronounced FYOO-suh-lahj (/ˈfjusəˌlɑdʒ/). It has three syllables (fu-se-lage), with the stress on "fu". Fuselage refers to the central body of an aircraft that holds crew, passengers, and cargo, to which wings and tail are attached. It is the main structural component, designed to be streamlined for aerodynamics and to withstand pressurization and various stresses. The term originated in aviation and is used across technical contexts, including aerospace engineering and maintenance.
Fuselage refers to the central body of an aircraft that holds crew, passengers, and cargo, to which wings and tail are attached. It is the main structural component, designed to be streamlined for aerodynamics and to withstand pressurization and various stresses. The term originated in aviation and is used across technical contexts, including aerospace engineering and maintenance.
"The fuselage endured substantial pressure during the high-altitude test flight."
"Engineers redesigned the fuselage for a lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft."
"Maintenance crews inspected the fuselage for fatigue after the long-haul mission."
You pronounce fuselage as /ˈfjuː.zəl.ɑːʒ/ in US and UK, with the primary stress on the first syllable. The first syllable sounds like 'fyoo' (like 'few' but longer vowel), the middle is a schwa closer to 'zəl', and the final is 'azh' like 'azh' in 'garage' (French derived). Position your tongue high in the front for /fjuː/ and relax into a mid-back vowel for /zəl/; finish with a voiced alveolar-zh /ʒ/. You’ll hear it as 'FYOU-zuh-lazh'. Audio resources: Cambridge and Oxford Dictionaries offer pronunciation audio; you can also check Forvo for native variants.
Common mistakes: 1) Misplacing the stress, saying ‘fu-SE-lage’ instead of ‘FU-suh-lage’; keep primary stress on the first syllable. 2) Rendering /juː/ as a short /u/ or /ju/ reduced, leading to ‘fyuz-uh-lazh’; maintain the long /juː/ vowel. 3) Ending with an /ɛɪ/ or /eɪ/ vowel instead of the French-influenced /ɑːʒ/; practice the final /ʒ/ as in 'measure'. Correct by slow, syllable-by-syllable practice and listening to native sources.
Across accents, the initial /fjuː/ cluster remains similar, but vowels shift: US often uses /ˈfjuː.zəl.ɑːʒ/, UK is close with a slightly more open /ˈfjuː.zəl.ɑːʒ/, and Australian follows US/UK closely but with subtle vowel coloration and reduced /ɜː/ or /ə/ in connected speech. The final /ʒ/ is generally consistent, though some speakers may soften to /ʒ/ as in 'measure' in rapid speech. Overall, the main variation is vowel quality in the middle and rhoticity differences in adjacent words.
The difficulty lies in the three-syllable structure with a rare final /-ʒ/ sound in English and the /z/ + /əl/ cluster, plus the consonant sequence /zəl/ that creates a tricky transition from a voiced alveolar fricative to a schwa and then to /l/. The /juː/ initial cluster also requires careful tongue positioning in a tense, rounded front vowel before the /z/. Practice the transition from /j/ to /z/ without adding extra vowel sounds.
Yes—focus on the final consonant blend /-lɒʒ/ (US: /-ləʒ/). Particularly, the /ʒ/ sound at the end can be challenging for non-native speakers who hear it less in their native languages. Ensure the tongue tip is relaxed, with the blade of the tongue close to the palate, producing the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/. The second syllable /-zəl/ requires a quick, almost unstressed schwa before the final /l/.
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Fuselage comes from the early 20th century aviation term, traced to French fuselage meaning 'bundle' or 'bundle of sheaves' and ultimately from fuseler (to pour or fuse) in a broader sense of combining components. The word appeared in English aviation discourse in the 1910s as aircraft designers sought a precise term for the main body of an aircraft. Early examples in technical texts describe the fuselage as the
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "fuselage" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "fuselage" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "fuselage"
-age sounds
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