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 robo in American English
ROH·boh
Start here
Americans pronounce robo as ROH-boh (/ˈroʊboʊ/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The robo-advisor suggested a portfolio based on my risk tolerance level".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "robo".
2 syllables, 4 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
In real conversation
Hear "robo" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
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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 ROH — keep everything else short and quick.
roh·BOH→ROH·boh
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "robo" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "ROH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ROH-boh" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "robo" 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 "ROH-boh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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