k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce career in American English
kuh·REER
Start here
Americans pronounce career as kuh-REER (/kəˈrɪr/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Cheer for the clear career year" or "Her career is progressing very well" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "career".
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.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
eer/ɪr/
Start with the high 'ih' position. Pull the tongue back and up while flaring the lips slightly.
In real conversation
Hear "career" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Cheer for the clear career year."
CHEER fer dhuh KLEER kuh·REER YEER
"Her career in marketing is her first priority."
her kuh·REER ihn MAR·kuh·tuhng ihz her FURST prahy·OR·uh·tee
"Her career is progressing very well."
HUR kuh·REER ihz pruh·GREH·suhng VEH·ree wehl
"I attended the career fair to explore job opportunities."
ahy uh·TEHN·duhd dhuh kuh·REER FAIR tuh uhk·SPLOR JAHB ah·per·TOO·nuh·teez
"Let's discuss how we can support your career advancement goals."
LEHTS duh·SKUHS HOW wee kuhn suh·PORT yer kuh·REER uhd·VAN·smuhnt GOHLZ
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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 REER — keep everything else short and quick.
KUH·reer→kuh·REER
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.
KUH·REER→kuh·REER
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 "career" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "REER" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuh-REER" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "career" 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 "kuh-REER" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "career"?
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 "career" 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 "kuh-REER" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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