How to pronounce his in American English
hihz
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Americans pronounce his as hihz (/hɪz/).
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Why it sounds different
Why "his" sounds like hihz.
The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, a tiny act of laziness that makes the rhythm feel right. It comes out as hihz.
In real conversation
Hear "his" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Arthur had a toothache in his mouth south."
AR·ther had uh TOOTH·ayk ihn hihz MOWTH SOWTH
"Beck hurt his back while riding a heavy bike."
BEHK HURT hihz BAK WAHYL RAHY·duhng uh HEH·vee BAHYK
"Bring a cup of water to the cop who lost his cap."
BRIHNG uh KUHP uhv WAH·der tuh dhuh KAHP hoo LAHST hihz KAP
"Even though it was late, he decided to finish his work."
EE·vuhn dhoh iht wuhz LAYT hee duh·SAHY·duhd tuh FIH·nuhsh hihz WURK
"Every muscle in his arm ached after cooking the mussel dish."
EHV·ree MUH·suhl ihn hihz ARM AYKT AF·ter KUU·kuhng dhuh MUH·suhl DIHSH
"He always tries his best."
hee AHL·wayz TRAHYZ hihz BEHST
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "his" 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 "hihz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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