ow/aʊ/
Start with a dropped jaw and flat tongue. Glide into a relaxed, slightly rounded lip position as the back of the tongue stretches up.
How to pronounce hour in American English
OW·er
Start here
Americans pronounce hour as OW-er (/ˈaʊər/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The bus comes once every hour" or "I'll be there in about an hour" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "hour".
2 syllables, 2 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
In real conversation
Hear "hour" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He got stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour this morning."
hee GAHT STUHK ihn uh TRA·fuhk JAM fer OH·ver uhn OW·er dhihs MOR·nuhng
"He let the dough rise for about an hour before baking it."
hee LEHT dhuh DOH RAHYZ fer uh·BOWT uhn OW·er buh·FOR BAY·kuhng iht
"I'll be there in about an hour."
ahyl bee DHAIR ihn uh·BOWT uhn OW·er
"I'll call you back in about an hour."
ahyl KAHL yoo BAK ihn uh·BOWT uhn OW·er
"Our flight was delayed by about an hour."
owr FLAHYT wuhz duh·LAYD bahy uh·BOWT uhn OWR
"She takes breaks every hour to maintain focus and productivity."
shee TAYKS BRAYKS EHV·ree OW·er tuh mayn·TAYN FOH·kuhs and proh·duhk·TIH·vuh·tee
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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.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch OW — keep everything else short and quick.
ow·ER→OW·er
02
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "hour" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "OW" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "OW-er" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "hour"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "hour" 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 "OW-er" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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