Pronunciation

How to pronounce “card

“card” is pronounced /kɑɹd/ (KAHRD) in American English and /kɑːd/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “card” in one beat

Say it like this

card

/kɑɹd/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /kɑːd/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat
  1. cardkɑɹd
IPA (American)
/kɑɹd/
IPA (British)
/kɑːd/
Respelling
KAHRD
Syllables
1 — card
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɑɹd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun, verb
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kɑɹd/

British

/kɑːd/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “card” means

  1. noun

    one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes

    he collected cards and traded them with the other boys

  2. noun

    a card certifying the identity of the bearer

    he had to show his card to get in

  3. noun

    a rectangular piece of stiff paper used to send messages (may have printed greetings or pictures)

    they sent us a card from Miami

Say it in a sentence

He sent her a birthday card with a funny drawing.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

4 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

card”, answered

How do you pronounce “card”?

“card” is pronounced /kɑɹd/ (KAHRD) in American English and /kɑːd/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kɑɹd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “card” have?

One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /kɑɹd/ — a single beat.

Is “card” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kɑɹd/ (KAHRD); British English says /kɑːd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “card” mean?

As a noun: one of a set of small pieces of stiff paper marked in various ways and used for playing games or for telling fortunes For example: “he collected cards and traded them with the other boys” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “card”?

One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɑɹd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.

Practise this word

Now say “card” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.