k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce curry in American English
KUR·ee
Start here
Americans pronounce curry as KUR-ee (/ˈkɜri/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I let the curry cook slowly so all the flavors could develop".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "curry".
2 syllables, 3 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ur/ɜr/
Flare your lips and push them away from the face. Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of the mouth.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch KUR — keep everything else short and quick.
kur·EE→KUR·ee
02
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 "curry" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KUR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KUR-ee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "curry"?
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 "curry" 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 "KUR-ee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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