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.
How to pronounce ohio in American English
oh·HAHY·oh
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Americans pronounce ohio as oh-HAHY-oh (/oʊˈhaɪoʊ/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "ohio".
3 syllables, 4 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
h/h/
Push a stream of air from your throat through your open mouth. No tongue or lip contact.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
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.
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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 second syllable, not the others. Stretch HAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
OH·hahy·OH→oh·HAHY·oh
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "ohio" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "HAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "oh-HAHY-oh" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "ohio" 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 "oh-HAHY-oh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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