Pronunciation · Everyday language

How to pronounce bologna

The deli meat bologna is three syllables in CMUdict, B AH0 L OW1 N IY0, buh-LOH-nee, not a reading that sounds the gn as "nya".

Buy $49 Download free for Apple SiliconIntel Mac? Download here.Not sure? Apple menu > About This Mac shows your chip.

Free plan with Kokoro voices, 3,000 characters a day · 3-day Pro trial, then $49 once

The dictionary sound sequence

CMUdict lists this North American English pronunciation for bologna. Read each sequence from left to right. The numbers mark vowel stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

Dictionary variant 1

B AH0 L OW1 N IY0

Syllable estimate: 3 vowel nuclei
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

Check bologna in Merriam-Webster and listen to available dictionary audio.

Syllable counts come from vowel tokens; CMUdict does not supply syllable boundaries here. Variant order follows the dictionary and does not rank correctness. This lexicon does not represent every accent or context.

Use bologna in context

Bologna is usually read as the lunch meat in grocery lists and sandwich recipes, and in that sense the gn ending becomes a plain "nee". This CMU entry covers that reading only. If your script means the Italian city, it needs a different, Italian-style pronunciation that this entry does not provide.

He packed a bologna sandwich and an apple.
The deli sliced the bologna thin for the platter.

Read the sound tokens

Each example word below is a cue for the named sound, rather than a respelling of bologna. Unstressed vowels may sound reduced. These cues follow the CMU phoneme-set key (Appendix A).

Bsound in beconsonant

AHsound in hutvowel

Lsound in leeconsonant

OWsound in oatvowel

Nsound in kneeconsonant

IYsound in eatvowel

Take it to your next recording

Make an audition worksheet

Select a dictionary variant for your checklist. The two original sentences retain their normal spelling; this worksheet helps you review a recording rather than forcing a speech engine to use phonemes.

Worksheet pronunciation variant

Your plain-text audition worksheet

How to pronounce bologna

Word: bologna
Dictionary variant: 1 of 1
CMUdict ARPABET: B AH0 L OW1 N IY0
Vowel nuclei / estimated syllables: 3
Primary stress: 2nd vowel position

ORIGINAL AUDITION SCRIPT
He packed a bologna sandwich and an apple.
The deli sliced the bologna thin for the platter.

REVIEW CHECKLIST
[ ] Read both sentences naturally; keep the source wording.
[ ] Compare the intended pronunciation with the selected dictionary variant.
[ ] Listen for vowel sounds, consonants, and word stress in context.
[ ] Check with a speaker or another dictionary when accent or meaning matters.
[ ] Generate and listen to a short Murmur sample before exporting the full script.

Practice note: Check whether your script means the food or the city before you record. For the food, put the stress on "LOH" and end with a short "nee".

CMUdict is a North American English lexicon, not a recording or a complete accent guide.
Variant order is dictionary order; it is not a ranking of correctness.
Source: https://github.com/cmusphinx/cmudict/blob/74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690/cmudict.dict
Source commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690
License: https://www.murmurtts.com/downloads/cmudict-license.txt
Reference: https://www.murmurtts.com/pronunciation/bologna

Copying and downloading happen in your browser. No script upload or audio generation is needed.

Dictionary source

The phonemes on this page come from CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. The dictionary maintainers acknowledge that errors and omissions can remain; check another source or a speaker when the pronunciation matters.

CMUdict README · Included dictionary license

Source version and checksum

Commit: 74790861f652b15e4ac49015a90074ad62a27690

Dictionary SHA-256: 81917843c7f44ce2b094ac63873c2c7a4cf802040792c455ba3ca406891c3d22

Build a pronunciation test suite for local TTS · Browse all word references