Pronunciation

How to pronounce “now”

“now” is pronounced /naʊ/ (NOW) — one syllable.

The sound

Say “now” in one beat

Say it like this

now

/naʊ/

The voice you hear here is American; a British voice is available in the app's settings.

1 beat

IPA (American): /naʊ/
IPA (British): /naʊ/
Respelling: NOW
Syllables: 1 — now
Stress: One syllable, so the whole word carries the beat — say /naʊ/ in one unbroken piece rather than clipping the vowel.
Part of speech: noun, adverb
Difficulty: Beginner — most learners get this on the first take

Meaning

noun
the momentary present
“Now is a good time to do it”
adverb
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
“President Kennedy now calls in the National Guard”
adverb
in these times; - Nancy Mitford
“it is solely by their language that the upper classes nowadays are distinguished”

Say it in a sentence

“The children are old enough now to walk to school alone.”

Sound by sound

2 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

How do you pronounce “now”?

“now” is pronounced /naʊ/ (NOW) — one syllable. It is one unbroken piece — /naʊ/ — with no pause anywhere inside it.

How many syllables does “now” have?

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

What does “now” mean?

As a noun: the momentary present For example: “Now is a good time to do it” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “now”?

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

Practise this word

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.