How to pronounce borrow in American English

IPA /ˈbɑroʊ/ Syllables 2 · bah·roh Stress 1st syllable

BAH·roh

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Americans pronounce borrow as BAH-roh (/ˈbɑroʊ/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch BAH — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "borrow" sounds like BAH·roh.

Between "" and "", a brief "" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. This is called the Vowel-to-Vowel Linking, the way sentences stop sounding like a list and start sounding like speech. It comes out as BAH·roh.

In real conversation

Hear "borrow" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"Could I possibly borrow a pen?"

kuud ahy PAH·suh·blee BAH·roh uh PEHN

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch BAH — keep everything else short and quick.

bah·ROH→BAH·roh

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "borrow" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the first syllable — say "BAH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "BAH-roh" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

Is the American pronunciation of "borrow" 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 "BAH-roh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Why "borrow" sounds like BAH·roh.

Hear "borrow" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Questions people ask about this.

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