k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce clear in American English
KLEER
Start here
Americans pronounce clear as KLEER (/klɪr/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Cheer for the clear career year" or "Appear to steer clear of the deer" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "clear" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "clear".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
eer/ɪr/
Start with the high 'ih' position. Pull the tongue back and up while flaring the lips slightly.
In real conversation
Hear "clear" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Appear to steer clear of the deer."
uh·PEER tuh STEER KLEER uhv dhuh DEER
"He enjoys snorkeling in the clear tropical waters."
hee ehn·JOYZ SNOR·kuh·luhng uhn dhuh KLEER TRAH·puh·kuhl WAH·derz
"He went for a solo hike to clear his mind."
hee wehnt fer uh SOH·loh HAHYK tuh KLEER hihz MAHYND
"She structured the paper with clear topic sentences for each paragraph."
shee STRUHK·cherd dhuh PAY·per wihth KLEER TAH·puhk SEHN·tuhn·suhz fer EECH PA·ruh·graf
"The island is surrounded by crystal clear turquoise water."
dhee AHY·luhnd ihz suh·ROWN·duhd bahy KRIH·stuhl KLEER TUR·kwoyz WAH·der
"We should establish clear expectations for the next evaluation period."
wee shuud uh·STA·blihsh KLEER ehk·spehk·TAY·shuhnz fer dhuh NEHKST ih·va·lyoo·AY·shuhn PEER·ee·uhd
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
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 do I pronounce the R in "clear"?
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 "clear" 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 "KLEER" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "clear". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.