3 syllables: Oc, cur, rence. Stress on cur.
uh-KUR-uhns
/əˈkɝəns/
Occurrence is pronounced uh-KUR-uhns (/əˈkɝəns/). It has three syllables (Oc-cur-rence), with the stress on "cur". Occurrence is a noun referring to the fact or frequency with which something happens or the instance of something taking place. It often appears in formal or technical contexts and can denote a single event or multiple incidents within a larger pattern. The word emphasizes presence or happening, rather than the causes behind it.
nounOccurrence is a noun referring to the fact or frequency with which something happens or the instance of something taking place. It often appears in formal or technical contexts and can denote a single event or multiple incidents within a larger pattern. The word emphasizes presence or happening, rather than the causes behind it.
How to Pronounce Occurrence
"The occurrence of rain during the conference forced organizers to postpone the outdoor sessions."
"An unusual occurrence was detected by the sensors, triggering an alert."
"Researchers studied the occurrence rate of the disease in different age groups."
Pronounce it as uh-KUR-uhns with primary stress on the second syllable. IPA: US /əˈkɜːrəns/ or /əˈkɔːrəns/ depending on speaker; UK /ɒkˈkʌrəns/; AU /əˈkɜːrəns/. Begin with a weak schwa, then a stressed /ˈkɜː/ (or /ˈkʌrə/ in some accents), followed by /rəns/. Maintain a light, quick second syllable and a clear final /ns/ cluster. Visualize a gentle jaw drop for the first vowel, then a firm mid-back vowel for /ɜː/. Lip rounding is minimal; keep the tongue centered for /ɜː/.
Common errors include over-pronouncing the first syllable (oc- or -occ- as a full vowel) and misplacing stress, saying o-CUR-rence or occu-RRENCE. Another error is pronouncing the second syllable as /ˈkɔːr/ with a long O sound, which makes it unnatural in many speakers. To correct: keep the first syllable as a neutral schwa /ə/, place primary stress on the second syllable /ˈkɜːr/ or /ˈkʌr/, and finish with a light /rəns/ without over-emphasizing the final /r/ before /ns/.
US often has /əˈkɜːrəns/ or /əˈkɔːrəns/ with rhoticity influencing the /r/ sound. UK typically /ɒkˈkʌrəns/ with a shorter first syllable and non-rhotic tendencies in some regions, though /r/ is not silent in all dialects. Australian tends to /əˈkɜːrəns/ with clear /ɜː/ in the stressed syllable and a similar ending /rəns/; vowel quality may shift slightly toward /ə/ in fast speech. Across accents, the main variation is vowel height and rhoticity, not the overall syllable count or stress pattern.
It’s challenging because of the two- syllable rhythm inside a three-syllable word, requiring a quick unfurling from a weak first syllable to a stressed center (/ˈkɜː/). The consonant cluster -rr- in the middle, followed by -ence, can tempt speakers to insert extra vowels or misplace the stress. The medial vowel quality changes across accents (US /ɜː/ vs UK /ʌ/), and the final /ns/ requires a precise, light release. Practicing the weak-strong-weak rhythm and listening for native timing helps a lot.
Yes — the strong second syllable with /ˈkɜːr/ in many varieties (or /ˈkʌrə/ in some) is the defining feature. The sequence -cur- often challenges non-native speakers because it combines a stressed center with an 'r' sound immediately followed by an unstressed -ence, creating a quick transition. Paying attention to the vowel height in the stressed syllable and maintaining a light, barely audible final -ns helps produce a natural, native-like rhythm.
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Occurrence comes from the Late Latin word occurrēre, formed from the prefix ob- (toward) + currere (to run). In Latin, occurrēre conveyed the sense of ‘to run toward’ or ‘to happen’ in a given moment. In English, the noun form began to be used in the 15th century, expanding to mean an instance or event. By the 16th and 17th centuries, occurrence was common in scholarly and legal texts to denote the happening of events or conditions and, later, frequency or rate of events in scientific and statistical writings. The core idea retained the sense of something that “happens” within a timeframe or context, rather than something planned or intended. The spelling stabilized in modern English with the middle syllable stress and the suffix -ence, aligning with words like occurrence, reference, and consequence that share the same morphological pattern. The word’s phonetic form reflects the Latin origin, with the second syllable reduced in common speech but clearly pronounced in careful diction. First known use as a noun in early modern English texts, it has since become a staple in grammar, statistics, epidemiology, and general discourse about events or phenomena.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Occurrence" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Occurrence"
-nce sounds
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