How to pronounce worst in American English

IPA /wɜrst/ Syllables 1 · wurst Stress 1st syllable

WURST

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Americans pronounce worst as WURST (/wɜrst/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Serve the worst person the worst burger".

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

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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Sound by sound

Every sound in "worst".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

w/w/

Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.

ur/ɜr/

Flare your lips and push them away from the face. Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of the mouth.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

t/t/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.

In real conversation

Hear "worst" in the wild.

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"Serve the worst person the worst burger."

SURV dhuh WURST PUR·suhn dhuh WURST BUR·ger

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Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

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 "worst"?

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 "worst" 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 "WURST" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Every sound in "worst".

Hear "worst" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Questions people ask about this.

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