How to pronounce review in American English

IPA /rəˈvju/ Syllables 2 · ruh·vyoo Stress 2nd syllable
ruh·VYOO
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Americans pronounce review as ruh-VYOO (/rəˈvju/). The unstressed syllable reduces to a lazy schwa — almost a quick "uh" — instead of being pronounced fully. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Stress
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Intonation
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Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch VYOO — keep everything else short and quick.

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.

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Why it sounds different

Why "review" sounds like ruh·VYOO.

Between "" and "", a brief "" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. This is called the Vowel-to-Vowel Linking, how Americans glue words together so they sound like one phrase. It comes out as ruh·VYOO.

In real conversation

Hear "review" in the wild.

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

"He is conducting a literature review to understand the current state of the field."
hee ihz kuhn·DUHK·tuhng uh LIH·duh·ruh·chur ree·VYOO tuh uhn·der·STAND dhuh KUR·uhnt STAYT uhv dhuh FEELD
"He submitted the rough draft for peer review before finalizing."
hee suhb·MIH·duhd dhuh RUHF DRAFT fer PEER ree·VYOO buh·FOR FAHY·nuh·lahy·zuhng
"He wrote a negative review about the movie's confusing plot."
hee ROHT uh NEH·guh·tuhv ruh·VYOO uh·BOWT dhuh MOO·veez kuhn·FYOO·zuhng PLAHT
"Her performance received a great review."
her per·FOR·muhns ruh·SEEVD uh GRAYT ruh·VYOO
"I need to review the notes before the exam next Thursday."
ahy NEED tuh ruh·VYOO dhuh NOHTS buh·FOR dhee uhg·ZAM NEHKST THURZ·day
"I need to review the study guide before the test next week."
ahy NEED tuh ruh·VYOO dhuh STUH·dee GAHYD buh·FOR dhuh TEHST NEHKST WEEK
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 VYOO — keep everything else short and quick.

RUH·vyooruh·VYOO
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·VYOOruh·VYOO
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "review" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "VYOO" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-VYOO" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "review" 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-VYOO" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "review" 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-VYOO" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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