p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce performs in American English
per·FORMZ
Start here
Americans pronounce performs as per-FORMZ (/pərˈfɔrmz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She performs in a local improv troupe on weekends".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "performs".
2 syllables, 6 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
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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 FORMZ — keep everything else short and quick.
PER·formz→per·FORMZ
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 "performs" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "FORMZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "per-FORMZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "performs"?
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 "performs" 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 "per-FORMZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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