How to pronounce “hour”
Hour is pronounced /ˈaʊər/. It has 2 syllables, and the beat falls on the first one — aʊ. 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 aʊ 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 “hour”
✗ Often said: /ˈhaʊr/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /ˈaʊər/
Why the two come apart: the silent “h” is not pronounced, even though the spelling begs you to say it; also, the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written.
This is why reading English aloud from spelling alone goes wrong so often: the letters of “hour” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“hour” sound by sound
“hour” is built out of 2 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.
-
aʊStart with the mouth wide open at /a/ and glide back and up toward /ʊ/, rounding the lips as the jaw closes.
-
ərThe same r-coloured tongue shape as /ɜːr/ but weak, short and unstressed — the ending of "teacher", "doctor", "sugar".
Silent letters in “hour”
Letters you write but never say — this is the single biggest reason the word trips people up:
- hThe letter “h”Silent “h” — write it, but do not let it reach your mouth.
Words that rhyme with “hour”
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 “hour”
Each of these differs from “hour” 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 “hour”
- How do you pronounce “hour”?
- “hour” is pronounced /ˈaʊər/, with the stress on the first syllable (aʊ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “hour”?
- “hour” has 2 syllables: aʊ · ər. The stress pattern is Oo.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “hour”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈhaʊr/, but it is actually /ˈaʊər/, because the silent “h” is not pronounced, even though the spelling begs you to say it.
- Does “hour” have any silent letters?
- Yes — silent “h”.
Stop looking words up one at a time
You just looked up one word. PHONO puts the IPA above every word of whatever you are reading — in your browser, in a PDF, in any app — the moment you select it. An offline pronunciation dictionary, US and UK audio, one hotkey.