One syllable: tain.
tayn
/teɪn/
tain is pronounced tayn (/teɪn/). It has one syllable (tain), with the stress on "tain". tain is a noun or verb-ending rarely used stand-alone in modern English, typically appearing in compounds or loanwords (e.g., retain, certain, sustain). It denotes holding, keeping, or maintaining something. In isolation it’s not common, but when part of a word it contributes a stable /teɪn/ or /tən/ realization depending on surrounding sounds and morpheme boundaries.
tain is a noun or verb-ending rarely used stand-alone in modern English, typically appearing in compounds or loanwords (e.g., retain, certain, sustain). It denotes holding, keeping, or maintaining something. In isolation it’s not common, but when part of a word it contributes a stable /teɪn/ or /tən/ realization depending on surrounding sounds and morpheme boundaries.
"She would retain the memory of that day, much to her dismay."
"The contract will retain its validity for another year."
"A raincoat would retain moisture if left in the sun."
Phonetically, say /teɪn/. Start with a clear alveolar /t/ followed by a long diphthong /eɪ/ as in 'day,' and finish with a nasal /n/. In connected speech, the /n/ may slightly assimilate with a following bilabial or alveolar sound. Stress is typically on the syllable if tain is a root element in longer words (e.g., retain, sustaining). IPA: US/UK/AU: /teɪn/.
Common errors include pronouncing it as /tæn/ (short a as in ‘man’) or blending it with a silent n, producing /teɪ/ or /teɪn̩/. To correct: ensure the vowel is a long /eɪ/ diphthong starting at mid-front and gliding to high front; clearly articulate the final /n/ with the tongue at the alveolar ridge and avoid nasalization before a following consonant. Practice with minimal pairs like /teɪn/ vs /tɛn/ to reinforce the diphthong and final nasal. IPA cues: /teɪn/.
In General American, /teɪn/ with a clear /eɪ/ diphthong and rhotic-less or neutral rhotic influence; UK Received Pronunciation also /teɪn/ but with non-rhotic tendencies and crisper /t/ release; Australian English maintains /teɪn/ but with slightly broader vowels and more elongated vowel duration before nasal. The main variation lies in vowel quality and tempo; the consonants remain alveolar plosive /t/ and nasal /n/. Overall rhyme stays stable: /teɪn/ across accents. IPA: US/UK/AU: /teɪn/.
The difficulty lies in producing a precise long vowel /eɪ/ without turning it into a shorter /e/ or /ɛ/. Some speakers also underpronounce the final /n/ or reduce the vowel before the nasal, creating /tən/ or /tɛn/. The mouth position requires a mid-to-high tongue height with the jaw slightly dropped, lips relaxed into a rounded shape at the diphthong’s first portion. Focusing on the glide from /eɪ/ to /n/ helps avoid a clipped end. IPA: /teɪn/.
In words where tain is a morpheme, the stress typically falls on the root-bearing syllable: e.g., reTAIN (disyllabic root showing primary stress on the first or second syllable depending on word). In compounds like sustain or retain, stress targets the root syllable that carries the meaning, with the suffix not usually stressed. When tain appears as a standalone root in a longer word, the rhythm aligns with English stress rules: primary stress on the syllable containing the root consonants and vowel diphthong /eɪ/. IPA: /teɪn/.
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The syllable tain originates from Latin tenere ‘to hold’ through French tenir or tenir-tien, with Old French retainir and sustenir contributing to its modern forms in English. The Proto-Indo-European root *ten- meaning ‘to stretch, hold’ influenced many related words like contain, retain, and sustain, where the phoneme sequence /teɪn/ or the consonant cluster /tən/ emerges in different morpheme boundaries. In English, tain often functions as a morphemic element rather than a standalone base; it appears in compounds and loanwords where the surrounding vowels or consonants influence its vowel quality and final consonant. Historically, the sequence around tain shifts with vowel harmony and nasalisation in different dialects, leading to variants such as /teɪn/ in stressed syllables (retain, maintain) and /tən/ in rapid speech or certain suffixes (contain, certain). First attestations in Middle English reflect borrowed influences from Norman French, with later standardisation shaping its present pronunciation patterns. The tail-end of many words with -tain reveals a strong tendency toward a long vowel in open syllables (e.g., retain) and a reduced or schwa-like ending in unstressed positions (e.g., contain). The term’s usage broadened through scientific and academic vocabulary in the 17th–19th centuries as Latin roots permeated technical terminology, reinforcing the sense of holding or maintaining a quality, state, or condition across languages that borrowed the element.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "tain" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "tain"
-ain sounds
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