TWEN-teez
/ˈtwɛntiz/
twenties is pronounced TWEN-teez (/ˈtwɛntiz/). Twenties refers to the decade from ages twenty to twenty-nine, or the number 20s expressed in plural form. It can also describe the plural of the digit 20 in contexts like “the twenties” in measurement or notation. The term often conveys a period of youth, or a specific era in history or style, depending on context.
Twenties refers to the decade from ages twenty to twenty-nine, or the number 20s expressed in plural form. It can also describe the plural of the digit 20 in contexts like “the twenties” in measurement or notation. The term often conveys a period of youth, or a specific era in history or style, depending on context.
- Misplacing stress or diluting it across both syllables; you’ll hear a flattening where TWEN-ties becomes evenly pitched. - Vowel drift in the first syllable; avoid turning /ɛ/ into /i/ or /æ/. - Blurred final /z/ or dropping voicing, which makes it sound like /tiz/ instead of /ˈtwɛn.tiz/. Correction tips: exaggerate the initial /ˈtwɛn/ cluster briefly to anchor the vowel, ensure a crisp /t/ release before the final /z/, and practice with a voiced /z/ by lightly vibrating your vocal cords at the end. - Practice with minimal pairs (twenties vs twenty) to keep the -s plural clear and not swallowed.
"She turned thirty last year and still remembers her twenties as a time of exploration."
"The project targets people in their twenties who are starting their careers."
"The color palette evokes the fashion of the 1920s, a nod to the twenties aesthetic."
Pronounce it as TWEN-tiz with primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈtwɛn.tiz/, UK /ˈtwɛn.tiz/, AU /ˈtwɛnˌtiz/. The first syllable has a short e as in “pen,” the second syllable reduces to a quick “tiz” with a light ‘i’ as in “kit.” Ensure the t is released clearly between both syllables and avoid inserting an extra syllable like “twenty-sees.”
Common errors include adding an extra vowel between -ten- and -ties (saying "twenty-e-s"), or turning the final -ties into a separate syllable ("twenn-teez"). Another frequent issue is misplacing the stress, sometimes giving equal weight to both syllables. Correction: keep one strong peak on TWEN, then a quick, unstressed -tiz. Practice with minimal pairs like twenties vs twenty (without s) to feel the final -z sound. Listen for the clear /t/ release and the voiced final /z/.
US tends to open the /e/ slightly more than UK, with /ˈtwɛn.tiz/. UK often has a marginally shorter first vowel and crisper alveolar stop before the final /t/; rhoticity is less pronounced in some UK speakers, but /tiz/ remains. AU generally aligns with US around the vowel quality but may feature a slight upward intonation and softer /t/ in casual speech. In all variants, the final /z/ is voiced; the difference is mainly in vowel height and the precise duration of the middle vowel.
The difficulty lies in the subtle vowel quality of /ˈtwɛn/ versus /ˈtwɛns/ and the quick, linked final /tiz/. The transition between /n/ and /t/ can blur in casual speech, and many speakers reduce the syllable boundary, turning it into a quick catchphrase. The final /iz/ or /əz/ can vary. Articulating a clear /t/ release before the /z/ and keeping the final /z/ audible helps avoid a mispronunciation like /ˈtwiːnz/ or /ˈtɛn.siz/.
Is the word 'twenties' ever pronounced with a 'w' sound after the 't' (like "t-wenties")? No. The standard is a clean /twɛn/ onset, no separate /w/ phoneme after the initial /t/. The leading /t/ stops at the alveolar ridge, followed by a short /w/? No, the /w/ is part of the onset /tw/ sequence, not an extra consonant. So focus on /t/ + /w/ blend and the following /ɛ/ vowel, finishing with /z/.
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- US: emphasize the clear /æ/? Actually /ɛ/ as in "bed"; check /ˈtwɛn.tiz/. Keep rhoticity neutral; final /z/ is voiced. - UK: slightly shorter first vowel, crisper /t/; maintain non-rhotic feel but final /z/ remains. - AU: similar to US but with possibly a more relaxed jaw and slightly higher vowel, ensure /twɛn/ remains stable, then /tiz/. IPA references: US /ˈtwɛn.tiz/, UK /ˈtwɛn.tiz/, AU /ˈtwɛnˌtiz/.
Twenties derives from the cardinal number twenty (20) plus the plural -s suffix, indicating more than one decade or a plural category. The word twenty comes from Old English twentig, from Proto-Germanic twain-tagiz, related to the German zwanzig and Dutch twintig, all stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root *dew-/*dwo- meaning “two.” The form -tye in English marks the ordinal/ordinal-adjective formation connected to tens (twenty, thirty). The plural -s attaches to indicate multiple decades or instances of the number 20 in various contexts. The term began widely used to denote the decade of the 1920s (the Roaring Twenties) in English-speaking cultures, and later as a general plural for the digits “20” in lists, measurements, or historical references. First known uses traceable to Middle English, with standardized spelling and pluralization solidifying in Early Modern English, aligning with other decade descriptors (the ’60s, the ’80s). Over time, “twenties” also gained colloquial life as “twenty-somethings,” although the latter is a separate noun form focusing on people aged twenty to twenty-nine rather than the decade itself.
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Words that rhyme with "twenties"
-ies sounds
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