5 syllables: hy, po, ther, mi, a. Stress on ther.
heye-puh-THUR-mee-uh
/ˌhaɪpəˈθɝmiə/
hypothermia is pronounced heye-puh-THUR-mee-uh (/ˌhaɪpəˈθɝmiə/). It has five syllables (hy-po-ther-mi-a), with the stress on "ther". Hypothermia is a medical condition characterized by a dangerously low body temperature, typically below 35°C (95°F), caused by prolonged exposure to cold or impaired thermoregulation. It progresses through stages from mild shivering to severe hypothermia, where core temperature falls and vital functions are compromised. Prompt recognition and treatment are essential to prevent organ failure and death.
Hypothermia is a medical condition characterized by a dangerously low body temperature, typically below 35°C (95°F), caused by prolonged exposure to cold or impaired thermoregulation. It progresses through stages from mild shivering to severe hypothermia, where core temperature falls and vital functions are compromised. Prompt recognition and treatment are essential to prevent organ failure and death.
"During the winter hike, she developed hypothermia after being soaked in the rain for hours."
"The firefighter was rescued from the icy river, suffering from hypothermia until he could be warmed."
"Medical protocols emphasize rapid rewarming to treat hypothermia in the field."
You say it as /ˌhaɪ.poʊˈθɜː.mi.ə/ in US, /ˌhaɪ.pəˈθɜː.mi.ə/ in UK, and /ˌhaɪ·pəˈθɜː.mi.ə/ in Australian speech. Stress lands on the third syllable: hi-po-THER-mi-a (with secondary stress on the first syllable). Start with /haɪ/ (like high), then /poʊ/ or /pə/ (depending on accent), then /ˈθɜː/ (th-er, with a breathy, dental fricative), /mi/ then /ə/. Keep the /θ/ as a voiceless dental fricative and ensure the final schwa is unstressed.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (saying hypotheRmia or hypoTHERmia), substituting /θ/ with /s/ or /t/ in /θɜː/ (sher-mee-uh), and collapsing the /poʊ/ into /po/. Another frequent issue is pronouncing the final /ə/ as a full vowel instead of a reduced schwa. Correct these by practicing the three segments: hi-po-THER-mi-a, ensuring dental fricative /θ/ is voiced with no lip rounding, and keeping the final /ə/ light and quick.
In US pronunciation, the second syllable tends to be /poʊ/ with a clearer diphthong, and /ˌhaɪ.poʊˈθɜr.mi.ə/ features a rhotic /r/ in /ˈθɜr/. UK English favors a shorter /ə/ in the second syllable and a clearer /θ/ with less rhotic influence; /ˌhaɪ.pəˈθɜː.mi.ə/. Australian speech often reduces /poʊ/ to /pə/ and is less rhotic, yielding /ˌhaɪ.pəˈθɜː.mi.ə/. All share the same /θ/ and final /ə/ but vowel quality and rhoticity differ.
The difficulty comes from stringing together adjacent sounds that don’t often co-occur in native speech: the /poʊ/ or /pə/ transition into /ˈθɜr/ with a hard dental /θ/ followed by a rhotic /r/ in American English. The sequence /θˈɜr/ contrasts with easier consonant clusters, and the final /miə/ is a light, multi-syllabic ending that can trip non-native speakers. Focus on the dental fricative /θ/ and the rhotic /r/ in close proximity, then smooth the transitions between syllables.
Hypothermia carries three stressed segments: hi-po-THER-mi-a, with the critical triad /ˌhaɪ.poʊˈθɜː.mi.ə/ (US) or /ˌhaɪ.pəˈθɜː.mi.ə/ (UK/AU). A unique challenge is maintaining a clear /θ/ (th) while preventing the following /ɜː/ from becoming too fronted. Practice by isolating the /θ/ into a short, crisp breath before voicing the /ɜː/ and keep the final /ə/ light.
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Hypothermia derives from the Greek hypo- ‘under, less than’ and therme ‘heat,’ together with -ia a suffix denoting a condition. The term follows a long-standing medical naming pattern that combines a prefix signaling deficiency or abnormality with a root describing the body or function. The modern usage appears in medical literature in the 19th and 20th centuries, aligning with the rise of formal physiology as a discipline. Early physicians described hypothermia as a clinical state resulting from environmental exposure or impaired metabolic heat production. Over time, the term expanded to cover pathological reductions in core temperature due to various causes, including anesthesia, trauma, and environmental exposure. The word’s construction mirrors other technical conditions like hyperthermia and anemia, where the prefix communicates a deviation from normal physiology. First known use citations vary by medical dictionaries, but the general adoption of the term reflects the growing understanding of human thermoregulation and its failure modes in cold environments and medical settings.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hypothermia" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "hypothermia"
-hia sounds
-pia sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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