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Word Analysis

potential difference

Complete linguistic analysis including syllable division, pronunciation, morphology, and definitions.

5 syllables
20 characters
English (US)
Enriched
5syllables

potential difference

Linguistic Analysis

Syllables

po-ten-tial dif-fer-ence

Pronunciation

/pəˈtenʃəl ˈdɪfərəns/

Stress

010 100

Morphemes

pot-differ + -ential-ence

The phrase 'potential difference' is a compound noun phrase divided into syllables 'po-ten-tial' and 'dif-fer-ence', with primary stress on the first syllable of each word. Syllabification follows the Maximal Onset Principle and V-C split rules.

Definitions

noun phrase
  1. 1

    The difference in electric potential between two points.

    The voltmeter measured the potential difference across the resistor.

Stress pattern

Primary stress falls on the first syllable of 'potential' (/ˈtenʃəl/) and the first syllable of 'difference' (/ˈdɪfərəns/).

Syllables

2
po-ten-tial/pəˈtenʃəl/
dif-fer-ence/ˈdɪfərəns/

po-ten-tial Open syllable, primary stress on 'ten'. dif-fer-ence Open syllable, primary stress on 'dif'

Maximal Onset Principle

Prioritized creating legal onsets whenever possible.

Vowel-Consonant (V-C) Split

Syllable division typically occurs after a vowel followed by a consonant.

  • Compound phrase, not a single lexical item.
  • Schwa sound /ə/ in 'potential' is a reduced vowel.
Analysis by gemma3:27b · 12/29/2025
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