How to pronounce “heard”
Say “heard” in one beat
heard
/hɝd/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /hɜːd/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- heardhɝd
- IPA (American)
- /hɝd/
- IPA (British)
- /hɜːd/
- Respelling
- HURD
- Syllables
- 1 — heard
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /hɝd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/hɝd/
/hɜːd/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “heard” means
- verb
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
- verb
get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
“I learned that she has two grown-up children”
- verb
examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process
“The jury had heard all the evidence”
Say it in a sentence
“She heard the news from a neighbor this morning.”“heard”, answered
How do you pronounce “heard”?
“heard” is pronounced /hɝd/ (HURD) in American English and /hɜːd/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /hɝd/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “heard” have?
One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /hɝd/ — a single beat.
Is “heard” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /hɝd/ (HURD); British English says /hɜːd/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “heard” mean?
As a verb: perceive (sound) via the auditory sense For example: “She heard the news from a neighbor this morning.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “heard”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /hɝd/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “heard” 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.