Journey is a noun referring to travel from one place to another, especially over a long distance or with a transformative or significant experience along the way. It can denote the physical act of moving or a figurative path of development, growth, or exploration. In everyday use, it often appears in phrases like “life’s journey” or “a journey home.”
"Her journey across Europe taught her resilience and independence."
"The long journey by train allowed him to think deeply about his career."
"They embarked on a challenging journey to reach the remote village."
"Her journey from novice to expert took years of steady practice."
Journey comes from the Old French word joie, meaning ‘day’ or ‘journey,’ but its modern sense derives from the Old French garder le chemin, meaning to ‘guard or keep the path,’ and later from Old French jorne or jour, meaning day. The word entered Middle English as journe, a day’s travel or circuit, evolving to describe a traveler’s path as a longer route or life’s course. By the 14th century it carried the sense of a traveler’s route between places; by the 17th century, metaphorical uses (life’s journey, spiritual journey) broadened the meaning. The semantic core centers on movement along a route, progress through time, and the experience of traversing distance or development. First known uses appear in Middle English texts, with roots traceable to Old French and Latin concepts of day and day’s path. The word’s trajectory mirrors human experiences of movement, exploration, and growth, shifting from concrete travel to symbolic life narratives in modern English.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Journey" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Journey"
-nny sounds
-ney sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce it as /ˈdʒɜː.ni/ (UK/AU) or /ˈdʒɜrni/ (US). The first syllable carries primary stress. Start with /dʒ/ as in judge, then /ɜː/ or /ɜr/ as the stressed vowel, then /ni/ with a light 'n' and a clear /i/. Keep the mouth rounded slightly for /ɜː/ and avoid adding an extra syllable. See audio references on dictionaries for comparison.
Common errors: (1) misplacing primary stress or reducing the /ɜː/ to a lax /ɪ/; (2) pronouncing /dʒ/ too softly or as /tʃ/; (3) adding an extra consonant like a /j/ before the final /ni/. Correction: begin with a crisp /dʒ/ sound, maintain a focused mid-back vowel /ɜː/ (US /ɜr/), then glide into /ni/ with a clean alveolar nasal and a short, crisp /i/.
US: /ˈdʒɜrni/ with rhotic /r/ and a slightly darker /ɜr/; UK/AU: /ˈdʒɜːni/ with non-rhotic or weak post-vocalic /r/ and a longer /ː/ vowel. The main variation is rhoticity and vowel length; US tends to a rhotic /r/ presence, UK/AU lean toward /ɜː/ and a clearer fronted /i/ in the final syllable.
The difficulty lies in the stressed /ɜː/ vowel which requires a mid-back tongue position without lip rounding, and in transitioning to the unstressed /ni/ quickly while maintaining a light nasal /n/ and precise /i/. The onset /dʒ/ must be clean and not blend with the following vowel. Learners often compress the /ɜː/ into /ɪ/ or insert an extra syllable.
Does the final /ni/ in 'Journey' ever reduce to a schwa or 'ni' without clear 'i' in rapid speech? In careful speech, end with /ni/ as two distinct sounds; in faster speech, it can reduce toward a reduced /nɪ/ or less prominent /ni/ but still clearly /n/ + /i/ in most dialects. For clarity, keep the /i/ as a light, crisp vowel.
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