How to pronounce run in American English

IPA /rʌn/ Syllables 1 · ruhn Stress 1st syllable
RUHN
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Americans pronounce run as RUHN (/rʌn/).

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Why it sounds different

Why "run" sounds like RUHN.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, what turns word-by-word reading into actual conversation. It comes out as RUHN.

In real conversation

Hear "run" in the wild.

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

"He grabbed his bag and started to run."
hee GRABD hihz BAG and STAR·duhd tuh RUHN
"He hit a home run and ran around all the bases."
hee HIHT uh HOHM RUHN and RAN uh·ROWND AHL dhuh BAY·suhz
"He is thinking of going for a long run."
hee ihz THIHNG·kuhng uhv GOH·uhng fer uh lahng RUHN
"Run down the road."
RUHN DOWN dhuh ROHD
"Run in the sun."
RUHN ihn dhuh SUHN
"She set a goal to run a 5k race within three months."
shee SEHT uh GOHL tuh RUHN uh FAHYV·KAY RAYS wuh·DHIHN THREE MUHNTHS
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "run" 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 "RUHN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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