English pronunciation · Words Starting with B

Birmingham Pronunciation

Birmingham is pronounced BUR-ming-ham, IPA /ˈbɝmɪŋˌhæm/.

BUR-ming-ham

US /ˈbɝmɪŋˌhæm/

Syllables: BUR · ming · ham (3 syllables, stress on syllable 1)

proper noun: A large city in the English Midlands, and also a city in Alabama.

Audio for the American and British pronunciations plays on this page with JavaScript enabled.

Birmingham in a Sentence

  • Birmingham is about two hours from London by train.
  • She moved to Birmingham for the job.
  • Birmingham, Alabama, was named after the English city.

Common Mispronunciations of Birmingham

Not bir-ming-HAM

Put everything on BUR and let the two syllables after it drop away. Most English place names ending in ham behave the same way.

Not BUR-ming-uhm

American speakers sound the ham at the end. In England the ending softens to um, giving BUR-ming-um, so the two cities differ in their own names.

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