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How to pronounce hymn

Hymn is pronounced HIM, with one syllable, exactly like him. The final n is silent. American and British English say it the same way.

Say it yourself
  • 1 syllable
  • Stress on HIM
  • Sounds like him
  • Checked in Cambridge and Oxford

hymn

One syllable

noun · a religious song that people sing in church

  1. HIMhɪm (stressed)
  • US /hɪm/HIM Recorded voice
  • UK /hɪm/HIM Your device’s voice

IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The recording is American English.

Hymn, sound by sound

Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.

USUK American and British English/hɪm/

  1. HIMstressed

    • /h/as in hat
    • /ɪ/as in sit
    • /m/as in man

Say hymn yourself

Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes hymn, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.

Tip. The n is silent. Say HIM, exactly like him. Do not add an n sound at the end.

Record yourself and play it next to our recording: the quickest way to hear a difference.

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hymn

    Common hymn pronunciation mistakes

    What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say HIM.

    • NotHIM-n

      Saying the n after the m. The word ends on the m.

    • NotHIM-nuh

      Adding a vowel after the n. The word has one syllable.

    • NotHYME

      Reading y as in my. In hymn it is the short i of sit.

    Hymn in a sentence

    Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.

    • They sang a hymn at the wedding.

    • We sing this hymn every Christmas.

    • The old hymn was slow and calm.

    Is the n in hymn silent?

    Yes. The n is silent after an m at the end of a word, as in autumn, column and solemn. Hymn sounds exactly like him, and the two words are homophones.

    The word comes from Greek hymnos, through Latin hymnus. In Middle English it was spelled ymne, and the n was said in some forms then. Over time the n at the end became silent, but the spelling stayed.

    The n comes back when you add an ending that starts with a vowel: hymnal (HIM-nul) and hymns follow different rules. In the basic word, finish on the m and close your lips.

    Words that sound like hymn

    Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.

    More words with silent letters

    All 170 difficult words

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