Pronunciation

How to pronounce “cars

“cars” is pronounced /kɑɹz/ (KAHRZ) in American English and /kɑːz/ in British English, and /kɑz/ is also accepted — one syllable.
The sound

Say “cars” in one beat

Say it like this

cars

/kɑɹz/

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

1 beat
  1. carskɑɹz
IPA (American)
/kɑɹz/
IPA (British)
/kɑːz/
Also accepted
/kɑz/
Respelling
KAHRZ
Syllables
1 — cars
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /kɑɹz/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/kɑɹz/

British

/kɑːz/

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

Meaning

What “cars” means

  1. noun

    a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine

    he needs a car to get to work

  2. noun

    a wheeled vehicle adapted to the rails of railroad

    three cars had jumped the rails

  3. noun

    the compartment that is suspended from an airship and that carries personnel and the cargo and the power plant

Say it in a sentence

The cars lined up along the street during the festival.
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

cars”, answered

How do you pronounce “cars”?

“cars” is pronounced /kɑɹz/ (KAHRZ) in American English and /kɑːz/ in British English, and /kɑz/ is also accepted — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /kɑɹz/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “cars” have?

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

Is “cars” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /kɑɹz/ (KAHRZ); British English says /kɑːz/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “cars” mean?

As a noun: a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine For example: “he needs a car to get to work” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “cars”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “cars” 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.