r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
How to pronounce requires in American English
ruh·KWAHYRZ
Start here
Americans pronounce requires as ruh-KWAHYRZ (/rəˈkwaɪərz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Creating a real reality requires respect" or "A healthy vine requires plenty of wet soil" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "requires".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
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.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "requires" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"A healthy vine requires plenty of wet soil."
uh HEHL·thee VAHYN ruh·KWAHYRZ PLEHN·tee uhv WEHT SOYL
"Creating a real reality requires respect."
kree·AY·tuhng uh REEL ree·A·luh·tee ruh·KWAHYRZ ruh·SPEHKT
"Developing effective study techniques requires consistent discipline and motivation."
duh·VEH·luh·puhng uh·FEHK·tuhv STUH·dee tehk·NEEKS ruh·KWAHYRZ kuhn·SIH·stuhnt DIH·suh·pluhn and moh·duh·VAY·shuhn
"I wanted to bring to your attention an issue that requires resolution."
ahy WAHN·tuhd tuh BRIHNG tuh yer uh·TEHN·shn uhn IH·shoo dhuht ruh·KWAHYRZ reh·zuh·LOO·shuhn
"The constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority to pass."
dhuh kahn·stuh·TOO·shuh·nuhl uh·MEHND·muhnt ruh·KWAHYRZ uh TOO THURDZ muh·JOR·uh·tee tuh PAS
"The course requires students to pass a qualifying examination."
dhuh KORS ruh·KWAHYRZ STOO·duhnts tuh PAS uh KWAH·luh·fahy·uhng ihg·za·muh·NAY·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 second syllable, not the others. Stretch KWAHYRZ — keep everything else short and quick.
RUH·kwahyrz→ruh·KWAHYRZ
02
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
RUH·KWAHYRZ→ruh·KWAHYRZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "requires" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KWAHYRZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-KWAHYRZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "requires" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "ruh-KWAHYRZ" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "requires" 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 "ruh-KWAHYRZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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