How to Pronounce Jaundice

Jaundice is pronounced "JAWN-dis." The first syllable rhymes with "dawn" and is said loudly, while the second syllable ("dis") is quieter and shorter. The whole word takes about one second to say.

The first syllable is stressed: "JAWN-dis." A common mistake is putting equal weight on both syllables or stressing the second one, but the emphasis should always be on "JAWN."

Jaundice breaks into two syllables: "jaun-dice." The first part contains the 'au' vowel sound, and the second part sounds like the word "dice."

Jaundice describes a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. It's the visible sign that something in the body is creating a buildup of a yellow-colored substance called bilirubin in the blood.

The word comes from the old French word "jaune," which means "yellow." This makes sense because jaundice is all about a yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes.

The adjective form is "jaundiced," which means having or showing jaundice. You might also hear "jaundiced eye" used in everyday English to mean a biased or prejudiced viewpoint, coming from the older idea that jaundice colors how someone sees things.

You might say, "The doctor examined the patient for signs of jaundice by looking at the skin and eyes." This shows jaundice as a condition that can be observed and looked for.

People sometimes say "JON-dis" or "JAWN-diss" (with the 's' sound at the end instead of 'z'), but the correct pronunciation is "JAWN-dis" with a 'z' sound, like in the word "dizzy."