3 syllables: news, pa, per. Stress on news.
NOOZ-pay-pur
/ˈnuˌzpeɪpɚ/
newspaper is pronounced NOOZ-pay-pur (/ˈnuˌzpeɪpɚ/). It has three syllables (news-pa-per), with the stress on "news". Newspaper refers to a periodical publication printed on newsprint, typically issued daily or weekly, containing current events, articles, features, and advertisements. The term also denotes the physical object itself. In everyday use, it often implies a source of information and journalism, and can describe both the publication and the act of reading it.
Newspaper refers to a periodical publication printed on newsprint, typically issued daily or weekly, containing current events, articles, features, and advertisements. The term also denotes the physical object itself. In everyday use, it often implies a source of information and journalism, and can describe both the publication and the act of reading it.
"I bought a newspaper this morning to catch up on the headlines."
"The newspaper reported on the city council's decision."
"She folded the newspaper and set it on the kitchen table."
Say /ˈnuːzˌpeɪpər/ in US/UK/AU. Put primary stress on the first syllable ‘NU’ and secondary stress on ‘PEI’ within the second syllable, with a light final ‘-per’. Lips start rounded for /nuː/, then spread for /z/ and /peɪ/; the final /pər/ closes with a quick schwa-like /ə/ or a darker vowel depending on accent. You’ll hear the sequence as two beats: NUZ – PAY – pur.
Common errors include delaying the /z/ after /nuː/ or reducing the /ˌpeɪ/ to /peɪ/ without real secondary stress, leading to /ˈnuːzˌpeɪpəɹ/ with a rhotic trailing sound in some accents. Some say /ˈnjuːzˌpeɪpə/ dropping the r or misplacing the primary stress. To correct: keep the /z/ clearly after /nuː/, maintain the secondary stress on /peɪ/ and finish with a light / ər/ or /ə/. Practice by chunking as NUZ PAY-pə, then combine.
In US/UK/AU you maintain /ˈnuːzˌpeɪpər/ with two syllabic units, but vowel quality shifts: US often keeps a longer /uː/ and a slightly darker /ɜr/ in rhotic varieties, while UK may have more clipped /ə/ in the final /ər/ and less rhotacism in non-rhotic accents. Australian tends toward /ˈnjuːzˌpeɪpə/ with a subtle glide in the second syllable and a clear /ɪ/ or /ɪə/ variant depending on speaker. Overall, rhythm remains trochaic with secondary stress on the middle syllable.
The challenge lies in the cluster /nz/ sequence after the initial vowel, the shifting vowel quality between /nuː/ and /njuː/ depending on speaker, and the reduced final syllable /pər/ that can blur into /pə/ or /pɚ/. Coarticulation makes the /z/ influence the preceding vowel’s duration, and the final /ər/ can be unclear in fast speech. Slow practice with clear segments helps you stabilize the two primary vowels and maintain proper stress.
A distinctive feature is the reduced final Schwa in some accents, yielding a closer /pɜː/ or /pə/ depending on region, while the stressed /nuː/ and the second syllable’s /peɪ/ must stay compact and brisk to avoid a drawn-out tail. You’ll often hear a near-diphthong in /peɪ/ followed by a light /pər/—this rapid, clipped ending is a hallmark of natural, fluent delivery.
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- US: maintain rhoticity in /ər/ for many speakers; keep /nuː/ rounded and the /z/ crisp. Use IPA cues to keep distinct /z/ voice. - UK: often non-rhotic; final /ər/ may reduce to /ə/ or /ə/; keep secondary stress on /peɪ/. - AU: similar to US with a slightly more centralized final vowel; practice with a soft /ə/ and a clear /peɪ/. Focus on the /ˈnuːz/ cluster and the /peɪ/ as a clean, bright syllable.
Newspaper is a compound of two Old English-origin elements: new, meaning recently made or created, and newspaper, in its earliest form, referred to a short note or sheet of news. The first element, new, derives from Old English niwe (related to Dutch nieuw, German neu), tracing to Proto-Germanic *niwjaz. The second element, paper, comes from Latin papyrus via Late Middle English, adopted into Old French as papier before entering English in the 14th century. The combined form newspaper emerged in the 17th century as print became a primary medium for disseminating current events. Early newspapers were handwritten or printed on paper and often serialized; by the 18th and 19th centuries, the term crystallized to denote the periodical publication that compiles news, commentary, and advertisements. Over time, “newspaper” also came to denote the physical object and the industry (newspaper publishing) itself, with modernization bringing tabloid and broadsheet formats, online derivatives, and digital news platforms which preserve the original word while expanding its medium.
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Words that rhyme with "newspaper"
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