How to pronounce job in American English

IPA /dʒɑb/ Syllables 1 · jahb Stress 1st syllable

JAHB

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Americans pronounce job as JAHB (/dʒɑb/).

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "job", the "" 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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Why it sounds different

Why "job" sounds like JAHB.

In "job", the "" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. This is called the Unreleased Stops, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as JAHB.

In real conversation

Hear "job" in the wild.

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

"He respects the difficult job that law enforcement officers do."

hee ruh·SPEHKTS dhuh DIH·fuh·kuhlt JAHB dhuht LAH uhn·FOR·smuhnt AH·fuh·serz doo

"He's decided to accept the new job offer."

heez duh·SAHY·duhd tuh uhk·SEHPT dhuh noo JAHB AH·fer

"How is the new job treating you so far?"

HOW ihz dhuh noo JAHB TREE·duhng yoo SOH FAR

"I attended the career fair to explore job opportunities."

ahy uh·TEHN·duhd dhuh kuh·REER FAIR tuh uhk·SPLOR JAHB ah·per·TOO·nuh·teez

"It took a lot of time to finish the job."

iht TUUK uh LAHT uhv TAHYM tuh FIH·nuhsh dhuh JAHB

"It's an odd job, but someone ought to do it."

ihts uhn AHD JAHB buht SUHM·wuhn AHT tuh DOO iht

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 "job", the "" 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.

job→JAHB

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "job" 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 "JAHB" 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.

Why "job" sounds like JAHB.

Hear "job" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

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