How to Pronounce Stress Urinary Incontinence

Say it like this: **STRES YOOR-ih-nair-ee in-KON-tih-nens**. The first word rhymes with 'mess,' the second sounds like 'your' plus 'in,' and the last word ends with 'nens' (rhymes with 'lens'). The loudest part is the first syllable of 'stress.'

The **first syllable of 'stress'** is the loudest and most emphasized part of the whole phrase. A common mistake is stressing 'ury' in the middle, but that's wrong—keep the emphasis at the very beginning on 'stress.'

Break it like this: **stress** (1 syllable) | **u-ri-nar-y** (4 syllables) | **in-con-ti-nence** (4 syllables). The whole phrase has 9 syllables total, but you only really stress the first one.

**Urinary** refers to urine and the system that makes and gets rid of it in your body. It comes from the Latin word 'urina,' which means urine. You'll see 'urinary' in other medical words too, like 'urinary tract.'

**Incontinence** means not being able to control or hold back a liquid or waste from your body. The word comes from Latin and literally means 'not holding together.' It's the opposite of having control.

The abbreviation is **SUI**, pronounced by saying each letter: **S-U-I**. You might hear doctors or nurses use 'SUI' as a quick way to say the full term.

In simple terms, it means **accidental urine leakage that happens when you move or strain your body**—like during a cough, laugh, or workout. It's not about losing all bladder control, just small leaks during certain activities.

Other medical terms use 'incontinence' too, like **urge incontinence** (sudden need to go) and **fecal incontinence** (loss of control with stool). All of these terms use the same root word, 'incontinence,' which means loss of control.

You might hear: 'The patient was referred to a specialist because of stress urinary incontinence.' Or: 'The doctor asked if leaking happened during exercise, which is common with stress urinary incontinence.' The term is used to name and describe the specific condition.