2 syllables: men, us. Stress on men.
/ˈmɛnjuz/
Say it backMenus refers to a list or plan of food and drinks offered at a restaurant or event. It can also mean a set of options or choices available in a system or application. The term is commonly used in dining contexts and in computing to describe selectable items. The plural form indicates multiple menus or a multi-item selection.
"We reviewed the vegetarian menus before choosing a restaurant."
"The hotel provides digital menus on tablets in each room."
"During the conference, several menus were available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
Say MEN-yooz, with primary stress on the first syllable. The first vowel is a short e like in “bed,” followed by a smooth “nyooz” sound where the /j/ acts as a y-join between the first and second syllables. IPA: US /ˈmen.juːz/, UK /ˈmen.juːz/, AU /ˈmen.jəz/. Tip: keep the second syllable light and avoid tensing the jaw; the /juː/ merges into a quick /z/.
Common errors include pronouncing the second syllable as /-s/ or /-z/ too strongly, making it ‘men-yooz’ with excessive y-gesture, or flattening the /juː/ into a simple /uː/. Correct by keeping /juː/ as a clean diphthong: /j/ + /uː/ in quick succession, not as a separate syllable chunk. Another issue is misplacing the stress or mispronouncing the first vowel as /æ/ or /ɪ/.
US and UK both use /ˈmen.juːz/ with a full /juː/ in the second syllable; rhoticity doesn’t alter the word. In Australian English, some speakers reduce the /juː/ to a shorter /jə/ or /jʊ/ sound, sometimes giving /ˈmen.əz/ or /ˈmen.dʒuːz/ depending on the speaker. Overall, the main difference is vowels’ quality and subtle rounding in the /uː/ portion.
The challenge lies in the fast transition from /ˈmɛn/ to /juː/ and then to the final /z/. The /juː/ is a palatal glide that can slide into a schwa in rapid speech, and non-native speakers often merge the two syllables or misplace stress. Focus on keeping the first syllable crisp and the second syllable as a short, bright yew sound + z. IPA cues: /ˈmen.juːz/.
Unlike many plural nouns, the ending /-uz/ requires a voiced alveolar sibilant /z/ that follows a high back vowel glide /juː/. The sequence /juː/ can be challenging for speakers whose languages lack a post-vocalic y- glide. You’ll hear tight jaw closure before the /z/ and a distinct y-glide bridging MEN and yoos.
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Menu comes from the French word menu, meaning ‘a detailed list of dishes’ or ‘a bill of fare.’ Its roots trace to Old French menue, which meant ‘small, detailed, or particular,’ and from Latin minutely, from minutus meaning ‘small, made small, diminished.’ The modern sense as a printed or displayed list of dishes emerged in the 18th century as chefs and restaurateurs began to standardize offerings. The word shifted from a general listing to a specific set of food items in a restaurant, while in computing and other fields, menu broadened to denote any selectable list. The plural menus simply indicates more than one listing, or a collection of options, and remains common in dining and tech contexts alike today.
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Words that rhyme with "menus"
-nus sounds
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