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 reviews in American English
ruh·VYOOZ
Start here
Americans pronounce reviews as ruh-VYOOZ (/rəˈvjuz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "This new restaurant has amazing reviews" or "He writes book reviews for a local literary magazine" — more examples below.
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Record yourself saying "reviews" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "reviews".
2 syllables, 5 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.
v/v/
Lift your bottom lip so its inner edge (where the wet part meets the dry part) touches the very bottom of your top front teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you blow air through.
yoo/ju/
Start with the tongue mid-front raised high, almost touching the roof of the mouth (but not touching). Glide into a tight lip circle as the tongue back lifts.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "reviews" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Apparently, the new restaurant downtown has received excellent reviews."
uh·PEH·ruhnt·lee dhuh noo REH·stuh·rahnt down·TOWN huhz ruh·SEEVD EHK·suh·luhnt ruh·VYOOZ
"He writes book reviews for a local literary magazine."
hee RAHYTS BUUK ruh·VYOOZ fer uh LOH·kuhl LIH·duh·rair·ee ma·guh·ZEEN
"I usually read the reviews before deciding which movie to watch."
ahy YOO·zhoo·uh·lee reed dhuh ruh·VYOOZ buh·FOR duh·SAHY·duhng wihch MOO·vee tuh WAHCH
"This new restaurant has amazing reviews."
dhihs noo REH·stuh·rahnt huhz uh·MAY·zuhng ruh·VYOOZ
"The movie received rave reviews for its stunning visual effects."
dhuh MOO·vee ruh·SEEVD RAYV ruh·VYOOZ fer ihts STUH·nuhng VIH·zhoo·uhl uh·FEHKTS
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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 VYOOZ — keep everything else short and quick.
RUH·vyooz→ruh·VYOOZ
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·VYOOZ→ruh·VYOOZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "reviews" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "VYOOZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ruh-VYOOZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "reviews" 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-VYOOZ" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "reviews" 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-VYOOZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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