How to pronounce hobby in American English
HAH·bee
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Americans pronounce hobby as HAH-bee (/ˈhɑbi/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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In real conversation
Hear "hobby" in the wild.
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"He creates bonsai trees as a relaxing hobby."
hee kree·AYTS BAHN·sahy TREEZ uhz uh ruh·LAK·suhng HAH·bee
"I am thinking of taking up a new hobby this year."
ahy uhm THIHNG·kuhng uhv TAY·kuhng UHP uh noo HAH·bee dhihs YEER
"I find cross-stitching to be a very meditative hobby."
ahy FAHYND KRAHS STIH·chuhng tuh bee uh VEH·ree MEH·duh·tay·tuhv HAH·bee
"She collects rocks and minerals as a hobby."
shee kuh·LEHKTS RAHKS and MIH·ner·uhlz uhz uh HAH·bee
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 HAH — keep everything else short and quick.
hah·BEE→HAH·bee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "hobby" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "HAH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "HAH-bee" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "hobby" 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 "HAH-bee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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