How to pronounce heavy in American English

IPA /ˈhɛvi/ Syllables 2 · heh·vee Stress 1st syllable

HEH·vee

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Americans pronounce heavy as HEH-vee (/ˈhɛvi/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

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Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

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

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In real conversation

Hear "heavy" in the wild.

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

"Beck hurt his back while riding a heavy bike."

BEHK HURT hihz BAK WAHYL RAHY·duhng uh HEH·vee BAHYK

"He hid the heavy hammer behind the hedge."

hee HIHD dhuh HEH·vee HA·mer buh·HAHYND dhuh HEHJ

"He needs help to hold the heavy gold cup."

hee NEEDZ HEHLP tuh HOHLD dhuh HEH·vee GOHLD KUHP

"I bet the heavy metal section is incredibly deafening."

ahy BEHT dhuh HEH·vee MEH·duhl SEHK·shuhn ihz uhn·KREH·duh·blee DEH·fuh·nuhng

"Never leave the heavy stove in the river."

NEH·ver LEEV dhuh HEH·vee STOHV uhn dhuh RIH·ver

"The barbell is used for heavy weightlifting exercises."

dhuh BAR·behl ihz YOOZD fer HEH·vee WAYT·lihf·tuhng EHK·ser·sahy·zuhz

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 HEH — keep everything else short and quick.

heh·VEE→HEH·vee

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "heavy" stressed in American English?

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

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