thursday

IPA /ˈθɜrzˌdeɪ/ Syllables 2 · thurz·day Stress 1st syllable
THURZ·day
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Americans pronounce thursday as THURZ-day (/ˈθɜrzˌdeɪ/). The R is one continuous sound with the vowel — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Intonation
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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch THURZ — keep everything else short and quick.

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.

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Why it sounds different

Why "thursday" sounds like THURZ·DAY.

Between "" and "", a brief "" glide bridges the two vowels for smooth flow. This is called the Vowel-to-Vowel Linking, a tiny act of laziness that makes the rhythm feel right. It comes out as THURZ·DAY.

In real conversation

Hear "thursday" in the wild.

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

"As discussed, the meeting has been moved to Thursday afternoon."
uhz duh·SKUHST dhuh MEE·duhng huhz bihn moovd tuh THURZ·day af·ter·NOON
"I heard your birthday is on Thursday."
ahy HURD yer BURTH·day ihz ahn THURZ·day
"I need to review the notes before the exam next Thursday."
ahy NEED tuh ruh·VYOO dhuh NOHTS buh·FOR dhee uhg·ZAM NEHKST THURZ·day
"I will pencil you in for next Thursday afternoon."
ahy wihl PEHN·suhl yoo ihn fer NEHKST THURZ·day af·ter·NOON
"My birthday is on the third Thursday of the month."
mahy BURTH·day ihz ahn dhuh thurd THURZ·day uhv dhuh muhnth
"Would Thursday evening work for you instead of Wednesday?"
wuud THURZ·day EEV·nuhng WURK fer yoo uhn·STEHD uhv WEHNZ·day
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

All of these share phonetic features with this word — same trick.

BURTH·DAYZbirthdaysBURTH·DAYbirthdayTHURDZthirdsURTH·KWAYKearthquakethurdthirdAH·thuh·RAHYZDauthorizedSIHN·thuh·SAHYZDsynthesizedTHOW·zuhndthousand
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 THURZ — keep everything else short and quick.

thurz·DAY→THURZ·DAY
02

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 is "thursday" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "THURZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "THURZ-day" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "thursday"?
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 "thursday" 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 "THURZ-day" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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