How to pronounce show in American English

IPA /ʃoʊ/ Syllables 1 · shoh Stress 1st syllable

SHOH

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Americans pronounce show as SHOH (/ʃoʊ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Show me the road" or "Show me the ship" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "show".

1 syllable, 2 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

sh/ʃ/

Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.

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 "show" in the wild.

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

"Have you seen the latest episode of that show?"

hav yoo SEEN dhuh LAY·duhst EH·puh·sohd uhv dhat SHOH

"He was asked to show his driver's license and registration."

hee wuhz ASKT tuh SHOH hihz DRAHY·verz LAHY·suhns and reh·juh·STRAY·shuhn

"She balanced the chemical equation to show the conservation of mass."

shee BA·luhnst dhuh KEH·muh·kuhl ih·KWAY·zhuhn tuh SHOH dhuh kahn·ser·VAY·shuhn uhv MAS

"She rides horses and competes in show jumping events."

shee RAHYDZ HOR·suhz and kuhm·PEETS ihn SHOH JUHM·puhng uh·VEHNTS

"She waived a foam finger to show her team spirit."

shee WAYVD uh FOHM FIHNG·ger tuh SHOH her TEEM SPIH·ruht

"Show me the road."

SHOH mee dhuh ROHD

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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