How to pronounce sure in American English
SHUUR
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Americans pronounce sure as SHUUR (/ʃʊr/). The R is one continuous sound with the vowel — the tongue curls back rather than rolling.
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In real conversation
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"Are you sure?"
ar yoo SHUUR
"Are you sure you locked the front door?"
ar yoo SHUUR yoo LAHKT dhuh FRUHNT DOR
"Are you sure you're ready to order?"
ar yoo SHUUR yor REH·dee tuh OR·der
"I'm not sure where to start the search."
ahym NAHT SHUUR wair tuh START dhuh SURCH
"To be honest, I'm not sure what to do."
tuh bee AH·nuhst ahym NAHT SHUUR wuht tuh DOO
"I'm sure the poor tour is pure."
ahym SHUUR dhuh PUUR TUUR ihz PYUUR
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How do I pronounce the R in "sure"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "sure" 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 "SHUUR" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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