How to pronounce sorry in American English
SAH·ree
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Americans pronounce sorry as SAH-ree (/ˈsɑri/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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"Carry the sorry story to the rural area."
KAIR·ee dhuh SAH·ree STOR·ee tuh dhuh RUUR·uhl AIR·ee·uh
"I am sorry for overreacting when you were just trying to help."
ahy am SAH·ree fer oh·ver·ree·AK·tuhng wehn yoo wer juhst TRAHY·uhng tuh HEHLP
"I am truly sorry for the inconvenience that I have caused you."
ahy am TROO·lee SAH·ree fer dhee uhn·kuhn·VEEN·yuhns dhuht ahy hav KAHZD yoo
"I realize now that I made a mistake and I am sorry."
ahy REE·uh·lahyz NOW dhuht ahy MAYD uh muh·STAYK and ahy uhm SAH·ree
"I take full responsibility for what happened and I am very sorry."
ahy TAYK FUUL ruh·spahn·suh·BIH·luh·tee fer wuht HA·puhnd and ahy uhm VEH·ree SAH·ree
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 SAH — keep everything else short and quick.
sah·REE→SAH·ree
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "sorry" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "SAH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "SAH-ree" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "sorry" 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 "SAH-ree" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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