How to pronounce “hour”
Say “hour” in 2 beats
hour
/aʊɚ/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /aʊə/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- aʊaʊstress
- ɚɚ
- IPA (American)
- /aʊɚ/
- IPA (British)
- /aʊə/
- Also accepted
- /aʊɹ/
- Respelling
- OWR
- Syllables
- 2 — AƱ-ɚ
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: AƱ-ɚ. “aʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/aʊɚ/
/aʊə/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “hour” goes wrong
- Often heard
“HOWR”
the h is silent: it sounds exactly like our
What “hour” means
- noun
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
“the job will take more than an hour”
- noun
clock time
“the hour is getting late”
- noun
a special and memorable period
“it was their finest hour”
Say it in a sentence
“The journey takes an hour longer when the road is wet.”“hour”, answered
How do you pronounce “hour”?
“hour” is pronounced /aʊɚ/ (OWR) in American English and /aʊə/ in British English, and /aʊɹ/ is also accepted — 2 syllables, stressed on “aʊ”. Build it as AƱ-ɚ, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “hour” have?
2: aʊ · ɚ. The beat lands on the first, “aʊ”.
Is “hour” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /aʊɚ/ (OWR); British English says /aʊə/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “hour” mean?
As a noun: a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day For example: “the job will take more than an hour” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “hour”?
Stress the first syllable: AƱ-ɚ. “aʊ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “hour” 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.