m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
How to pronounce measures in American English
MEH·zherz
Start here
Americans pronounce measures as MEH-zherz (/ˈmɛʒərz/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She measures the ph level of the rainwater" or "She inspected the climbing harness for safety measures" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "measures".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
zh/ʒ/
Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Add vocal cord vibration.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "measures" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Carbon footprint measures the impact of human activities on the environment."
KAR·buhn FUUT·prihnt MEH·zherz dhee IHM·pakt uhv HYOO·muhn ak·TIH·vuh·deez ahn dhee uhn·VAHY·ruhn·muhnt
"OSHA regulations require certain safety measures in manufacturing facilities."
OH·shuh rehg·yuh·LAY·shuhnz ruh·KWAHY·er SUR·tuhn SAYF·tee MEH·zherz ihn ma·nyoo·FAK·cher·uhng fuh·SIH·luh·teez
"She inspected the climbing harness for safety measures."
shee uhn·SPEHK·tuhd dhuh KLAHY·muhng HAR·nuhs fer SAYF·tee MEH·zherz
"She measures the ph level of the rainwater."
shee MEH·zherz dhuh pee·AYCH LEH·vuhl uhv dhuh RAYN·wah·der
"The government implemented stimulus measures to boost the economy."
dhuh GUH·vern·muhnt IHM·pluh·mehn·tuhd STIH·myuh·luhs MEH·zherz tuh BOOST dhee uh·KAH·nuh·mee
"The ph scale measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution."
dhuh pee·AYCH SKAYL MEH·zherz dhee uh·SIH·duh·tee or al·kuh·LIH·nuh·tee uhv uh suh·LOO·shuhn
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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 MEH — keep everything else short and quick.
meh·ZHERZ→MEH·zherz
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 "measures" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "MEH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "MEH-zherz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "measures"?
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 "measures" 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 "MEH-zherz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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