h/h/
Push a stream of air from your throat through your open mouth. No tongue or lip contact.
How to pronounce heard in American English
HURD
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Americans pronounce heard as HURD (/hɜrd/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I heard the word" or "I heard a strange story yesterday" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "heard".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. 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.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
In real conversation
Hear "heard" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Behind the hill, the hunter heard a horn."
buh·HAHYND dhuh HIHL dhuh HUHN·ter HURD uh HORN
"I heard a strange story yesterday."
ahy HURD uh STRAYNJ STOR·ee YEH·ster·day
"I heard the word."
ahy HURD dhuh WURD
"I heard there is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon."
ahy HURD DHAIR ihz uh CHANS uhv THUHN·der·stormz dhihs af·ter·NOON
"I heard they are planning to renovate the park next spring."
ahy HURD dhay er PLA·nuhng tuh REH·nuh·vayt dhuh PARK NEHKST SPRIHNG
"I heard you are expecting your first child which is wonderful news!"
ahy HURD yoo er uhk·SPEHK·tuhng yer FURST CHAHYLD wihch ihz WUHN·der·fuhl NOOZ
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "heard", the "d" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
heard→HURD
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 do I pronounce the R in "heard"?
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 "heard" 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 "HURD" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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