How to pronounce him in American English

IPA /hɪm/ Syllables 1 · hihm

hihm

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Americans pronounce him as hihm (/hɪm/). The "h" in "him" is dropped in connected speech — the preceding word's final consonant links directly to the remaining vowel — most natural in casual, rapid speech; in careful or formal speech, the H is typically kept. This is called the Silent H (in him, her, has), the casual shortcut native speakers reach for without thinking. It comes out as hihm. You'll hear it in sentences like "Help him home" or "Give it to him" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "him".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

h/h/

Push a stream of air from your throat through your open mouth. No tongue or lip contact.

ih/ɪ/

Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.

m/m/

Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.

In real conversation

Hear "him" in the wild.

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

"Do not sit on the seat that is set for him."

doo NAHT SIHT ahn dhuh SEET dhuht ihz SEHT fer hihm

"Give it to him."

GIHV iht tuh hihm

"He doesn't have much cash with him."

hee DUH·zuhnt hav muhch KASH wihth hihm

"He hired a personal trainer to help him lose weight and build muscle."

hee HAHY·erd uh PUR·suh·nuhl TRAY·ner tuh HEHLP hihm LOOZ WAYT and BIHLD MUH·suhl

"He prefers a cold shower to help him wake up faster."

hee pruh·FURZ uh KOHLD SHOW·er tuh HEHLP hihm WAYK UHP FA·ster

"Help him home."

HEHLP hihm HOHM

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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