how to pronounce maternity

/məˈtɜː.nə.ti/

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of maternity is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

maternity is pronounced in four syllables

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1.

2.

ɜː

3.

4. example pitch curve for pronunciation of maternity

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video examples of maternity pronunciation

An example use of maternity in a speech by a native speaker of british english:

“… dress up as anyone else so maternity and …”

meanings of maternity

noun:

A ward or department in a hospital in which babies are born.
The state of being pregnant; pregnancy.
The state of being a mother; motherhood.

maternity frequency in english - C1 level of CEFR

the word maternity occurs in english on average 7.2 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C1 level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.