How to pronounce joe in American English

IPA /dʒoʊ/ Syllables 1 · joh Stress 1st syllable

JOH

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Americans pronounce joe as JOH (/dʒoʊ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Joe drove the boat slowly to the remote zone".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "joe".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

j/dʒ/

Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.

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.

In real conversation

Hear "joe" in the wild.

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"Joe drove the boat slowly to the remote zone."

JOH DROHV dhuh BOHT SLOH·lee tuh dhuh ruh·MOHT ZOHN

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Questions

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