How to pronounce hope in American English

IPA /hoʊp/ Syllables 1 · hohp Stress 1st syllable

HOHP

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Americans pronounce hope as HOHP (/hoʊp/). You'll hear it in sentences like "What kind of work do you hope to find?" or "Hope for the moment when the snow goes" — more examples below.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "hope", the "p" 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.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "hope".

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.

oh/oʊ/

Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.

p/p/

Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.

In real conversation

Hear "hope" in the wild.

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

"Hope for the moment when the snow goes."

HOHP fer dhuh MOH·muhnt wehn dhuh SNOH GOHZ

"I hope this apology can be the first step toward reconciliation."

ahy HOHP dhihs uh·PAH·luh·jee kuhn bee dhuh FURST STEHP tuh·WORD reh·kuhn·sih·lee·AY·shuhn

"I hope this coming year brings you joy, health, and prosperity."

ahy HOHP dhihs KUH·muhng YEER BRIHNGZ yoo JOY HEHLTH and prah·SPAIR·uh·tee

"What kind of work do you hope to find?"

wuht KAHYND uhv WURK doo yoo HOHP tuh FAHYND

"I hope we can put this behind us and move forward together."

ahy HOHP wee kuhn PUUT dhihs buh·HAHYND uhs and MOOV FOR·werd tuh·GEH·dher

"I hope we can work through this together as we have before."

ahy HOHP wee kuhn WURK throo dhihs tuh·GEH·dher uhz wee huhv buh·FOR

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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.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "hope", the "p" 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.

hope→HOHP

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Every sound in "hope".

Hear "hope" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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