How to pronounce now in American English

IPA /naʊ/ Syllables 1 · now Stress 1st syllable

NOW

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Americans pronounce now as NOW (/naʊ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Go home now" or "No, not now" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "now".

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

n/n/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.

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.

In real conversation

Hear "now" in the wild.

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

"Admittedly, I was initially skeptical, but now I am completely convinced."

uhd·MIH·duhd·lee ahy wuhz ih·NIH·shuh·lee SKEHP·tuh·kuhl buht NOW ahy uhm kuhm·PLEET·lee kuhn·VIHNST

"Do you want to talk about it now or later?"

doo yoo WAHNT tuh TAHK uh·BOWT iht NOW or LAY·der

"Go home now."

GOH HOHM NOW

"How about we go out around the town now?"

HOW uh·BOWT wee GOH OWT uh·ROWND dhuh TOWN NOW

"I am committed to being a better friend from now on."

ahy uhm kuh·MIH·duhd tuh BEE·uhng uh BEH·der FREHND fruhm NOW AHN

"I am feeling much more optimistic about the future now."

ahy uhm FEE·luhng muhch MOR ahp·tuh·MIH·stuhk uh·BOWT dhuh FYOO·cher NOW

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Questions

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