How to pronounce “ours”
Ours is pronounced /ˈaʊərz/. 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 “ours”
✗ Often said: /ˈaʊrs/ — the spelling, read straight off the page.
✓ Actually: /ˈaʊərz/
Why the two come apart: the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written; 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 “ours” are not a reliable map of its sounds. The IPA is — each symbol stands for exactly one sound, every time.
“ours” sound by sound
“ours” is built out of 3 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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aʊStart with the mouth wide open at /a/ and glide back and up toward /ʊ/, rounding the lips as the jaw closes.
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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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zExactly the /s/ tongue position with voicing added, so the airflow buzzes.
Minimal pairs — words one sound away from “ours”
Each of these differs from “ours” 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 “ours”
- How do you pronounce “ours”?
- “ours” is pronounced /ˈaʊərz/, with the stress on the first syllable (aʊ). Press the US or UK button above to hear it spoken.
- How many syllables are in “ours”?
- “ours” has 2 syllables: aʊ · ərz. The stress pattern is Oo.
- What is the common mispronunciation of “ours”?
- People read it off the spelling as /ˈaʊrs/, but it is actually /ˈaʊərz/, because the unstressed vowels flatten all the way down to /ə/ — English swallows them, so they never sound the way they are written.
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