Pronunciation guide

How to pronounce pneumonia

noo-MOHN-yuh (US) or new-MOH-nee-uh (UK); the 'p' is silent, stress on 'MOH'

US/nuˈmoʊniə/

numoʊniə

UK/njuˈməʊniə/

njuməʊniə

New to IPA symbols? Read the IPA guide.

Common mistake

The opening 'p' is silent - 'noo-MOHN-yuh'.

What “pneumonia” means

Inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious microorganisms.

In a sentence

  • Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs usually caused by infection.
  • Early treatment with antibiotics can reduce the severity of bacterial pneumonia.

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Definitions and examples are derived from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, then edited by QuickPronounce. Pronunciation data draws on CMUdict.