How to pronounce “hurt”
Say “hurt” in one beat
hurt
/hɝt/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /hɜːt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- hurthɝt
- IPA (American)
- /hɝt/
- IPA (British)
- /hɜːt/
- Respelling
- HURT
- Syllables
- 1 — hurt
- Stress
- One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /hɝt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
American and British are not the same here
/hɝt/
/hɜːt/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
What “hurt” means
- noun
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
- noun
psychological suffering
“the death of his wife caused him great distress”
- noun
feelings of mental or physical pain
Say it in a sentence
“She hurt her ankle running down the steep hill.”“hurt”, answered
How do you pronounce “hurt”?
“hurt” is pronounced /hɝt/ (HURT) in American English and /hɜːt/ in British English — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /hɝt/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.
How many syllables does “hurt” have?
One, despite the 1 vowel letters in the spelling. The whole word is /hɝt/ — a single beat.
Is “hurt” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /hɝt/ (HURT); British English says /hɜːt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “hurt” mean?
As a noun: any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc. For example: “She hurt her ankle running down the steep hill.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “hurt”?
One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /hɝt/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Now say “hurt” 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.