Pronunciation

How to pronounce “hope

“hope” is pronounced /hoʊp/ (HOHP) in American English and /həʊp/ in British English — one syllable.
The sound

Say “hope” in one beat

Say it like this

hope

/hoʊp/

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

1 beat
  1. hopehoʊp
IPA (American)
/hoʊp/
IPA (British)
/həʊp/
Respelling
HOHP
Syllables
1 — hope
Stress
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /hoʊp/ 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

/hoʊp/

British

/həʊp/

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

Meaning

What “hope” means

  1. noun

    a specific instance of feeling hopeful

    it revived their hope of winning the pennant

  2. noun

    the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled

    in spite of his troubles he never gave up hope

  3. noun

    grounds for feeling hopeful about the future

    there is little or no promise that he will recover

Say it in a sentence

I hope the weather holds until the end of the match.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

3 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

hope”, answered

How do you pronounce “hope”?

“hope” is pronounced /hoʊp/ (HOHP) in American English and /həʊp/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /hoʊp/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “hope” have?

One, despite the 2 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /hoʊp/ — a single beat.

Is “hope” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /hoʊp/ (HOHP); British English says /həʊp/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “hope” mean?

As a noun: a specific instance of feeling hopeful For example: “it revived their hope of winning the pennant” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “hope”?

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

Practise this word

Now say “hope” 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.