b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
How to pronounce before in American English
buh·FOR
Start here
Americans pronounce before as buh-FOR (/bəˈfɔr/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I've eaten at that restaurant before" or "You've been here before, haven't you?" — more examples below.
Now you try.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "before".
2 syllables, 4 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
In real conversation
Hear "before" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"After she ate, she decided to wait before lifting the weight."
AF·ter shee AYT shee duh·SAHY·duhd tuh WAYT buh·FOR LIHF·tuhng dhuh WAYT
"All employees must complete the mandatory safety training before starting work."
AHL uhm·PLOY·eez muhst kuhm·PLEET dhuh MAN·duh·tor·ee SAYF·tee TRAY·nuhng buh·FOR STAR·tuhng WURK
"Before the storm, the port was normal."
buh·FOR dhuh STORM dhuh PORT wuhz NOR·muhl
"Before we conclude, I would like to address any questions you may have."
buh·FOR wee kuhn·KLOOD ahy wuud LAHYK tuh uh·DREHS EH·nee KWEHS·chuhnz yoo MAY hav
"Before you leave, don't forget to turn off the lights."
buh·FOR yoo LEEV DOHNT fer·GEHT tuh TURN AHF dhuh LAHYTS
"Catch the match before the snatch thief runs."
KACH dhuh MACH buh·FOR dhuh SNACH THEEF RUHNZ
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch FOR — keep everything else short and quick.
BUH·for→buh·FOR
02
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
BUH·FOR→buh·FOR
03
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "before" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "FOR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "buh-FOR" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "before" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "buh-FOR" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "before"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "before" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "buh-FOR" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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