How to pronounce your in American English

IPA /jər/ Syllables 1 · yer

yer

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Americans pronounce your as yer (/jər/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Enjoy your voice" or "Talk to your boss" — more examples below.

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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 "your".

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

y/j/

Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth, but stop just short of touching. /j/ is an approximant, not a stop. The tongue tip stays down, lightly resting near the back of your bottom front teeth. Voice runs through the whole gesture, and the tongue glides smoothly down into the next vowel. The lips stay neutral or pre-shape for the upcoming vowel (rounding early for OO in <em>youth</em>, for example).

er/ər/

Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.

In real conversation

Hear "your" in the wild.

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

"Allow me to demonstrate how this solution addresses your concerns."

uh·LOW mee tuh DEH·muhn·strayt HOW dhihs suh·LOO·shuhn uh·DREH·suhz yer kuhn·SURNZ

"Are you prepared for your performance tomorrow?"

ar yoo pruh·PAIRD fer yor per·FOR·muhns tuh·MAH·roh

"Are you ready to order your food?"

er yuh REH·dee tuh OR·der yer FOOD

"Breathe together and gather your thoughts there."

BREEDH tuh·GEH·dher and GA·dher yer THAHTS DHAIR

"Can you please clean up your bedroom?"

kuhn yoo PLEEZ KLEEN UHP yer BEH·droom

"Congratulations on your promotion which was well deserved indeed!"

kuhn·gra·chuh·LAY·shuhnz ahn yer pruh·MOH·shuhn wihch wuhz wehl duh·ZURVD uhn·DEED

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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 "your"?

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

Now you try.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Every sound in "your".

Hear "your" 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.

Stop reading about "your". Start saying it.