p/p/
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How to pronounce power in American English
POW·er
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Americans pronounce power as POW-er (/ˈpaʊər/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Doubts about the power amount are unfounded" or "She has a valid power of attorney to manage his finances" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "power".
2 syllables, 3 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
In real conversation
Hear "power" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Doubts about the power amount are unfounded."
DOWTS uh·BOWT dhuh POW·er uh·MOWNT er uhn·FOWN·duhd
"She has a valid power of attorney to manage his finances."
shee huhz uh VA·luhd POW·er uhv uh·TUR·nee tuh MA·nuhj hihz FAHY·nan·suhz
"She has the power of attorney to make decisions for her father."
shee huhz dhuh POW·er uhv uh·TUR·nee tuh MAYK duh·SIH·zhuhnz fer her FAH·dher
"Solar and wind power installations have increased exponentially."
SOH·ler and WIHND POW·er ihn·stuh·LAY·shuhnz huhv uhn·KREEST ehk·spuh·NEHN·shuh·lee
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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 POW — keep everything else short and quick.
pow·ER→POW·er
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 "power" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "POW" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "POW-er" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "power"?
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 "power" 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 "POW-er" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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