English pronunciation · Words Starting with P

Personal Pronunciation

Personal is pronounced PUR-si-nuhl, IPA /ˈpɝsɪnəl/.

PUR-si-nuhl

US /ˈpɝsɪnəl/  ·  UK /ˈpɜːsənəl/

Syllables: PUR · si · nuhl (3 syllables, stress on syllable 1)

adjective: Belonging to or concerning one particular person rather than anyone else.

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Personal in a Sentence

  • These are my personal notes, not the official record.
  • She took the comment as a personal attack.
  • Personal data must be stored securely.

Common Mispronunciations of Personal

Not per-suh-NAL

Open loud on PUR and let the last two beats fade. Personnel, the staff of an organisation, is the word that stresses its ending.

Not PER-soh-nal

Both syllables after the first reduce almost to nothing, si then nuhl. Sounding them in full makes the word sound spelled out.

Tip: Personal and personnel differ mainly in where the beat lands: PUR-suh-nuhl against pur-suh-NEL.

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