How to pronounce “career”
Career is pronounced /kərˈɪr/. It has 2 syllables, and the beat falls on the second one — ɪr. Below: the syllable split, native audio in both accents, the mistake people actually make with this word, and every individual sound in it explained.
Syllables and stress
Split it into 2 beats. The highlighted syllable is the strong one: say it louder, longer and a touch higher in pitch, and let the others fall away. English is a stress-timed language, so getting ɪr in the right place matters more to a listener than getting every vowel perfect.
Stress pattern oO — capital letters mark the stressed beats.
The common mispronunciation of “career”
✗ Often said: /ˈkɑːriːr/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /kərˈɪr/
Why the two come apart: the stress lands on the second syllable (“ɪr”), not on the first one — putting the beat at the front is the mistake almost everyone makes; also, the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written; also, at least one vowel does not say what its spelling suggests — English vowel letters are not reliable here; also, a consonant letter takes an unexpected sound value here, so reading it "as written" comes out wrong.
This is why reading English aloud from spelling alone goes wrong so often: the letters of “career” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“career” sound by sound
“career” is built out of 4 sounds. Say each one on its own first, slowly, then run them together at speed. Every sound links to a full guide with mouth position, the mistake learners make with it, and other words that use it.
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kRaise the back of the tongue to touch the soft palate, seal the air, then release it with a puff.
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ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
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ɪRelax the tongue slightly lower and further back than for /iː/, keep the lips neutral, and make it short and lax.
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rCurl the tongue tip back (or bunch the tongue body up) without touching anything, round the lips slightly, and voice — the tongue must never tap the roof of the mouth.
Words that rhyme with “career”
Same ending sound from the stressed vowel on — a good way to hear whether you have the vowel right:
Minimal pairs — words one sound away from “career”
Each of these differs from “career” by exactly one sound. If you can say both of a pair and hear the difference, that sound is under control:
Questions people ask about “career”
- How do you pronounce “career”?
- “career” is pronounced /kərˈɪr/, with the stress on the second syllable (ɪr). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “career”?
- “career” has 2 syllables: kər · ɪr. The stress pattern is oO.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “career”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈkɑːriːr/, but it is actually /kərˈɪr/, because the stress lands on the second syllable (“ɪr”), not on the first one — putting the beat at the front is the mistake almost everyone makes.
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