How to pronounce zero in American English
ZEE·roh
Start here
Americans pronounce zero as ZEE-roh (/ˈziroʊ/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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In real conversation
Hear "zero" in the wild.
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"Astronauts float in zero gravity aboard the space station."
A·struh·nahts FLOHT ihn ZEE·roh GRA·vuh·dee uh·BORD dhuh SPAYS STAY·shuhn
"The company has a zero tolerance policy for safety violations."
dhuh KUHM·puh·nee huhz uh ZEE·roh TAH·ler·uhns PAH·luh·see fer SAYF·tee vahy·uh·LAY·shuhnz
"Zero zone."
ZEE·roh ZOHN
"Zero zones were frozen in the crazy maze."
ZEE·roh ZOHNZ wer FROH·zuhn ihn dhuh KRAY·zee MAYZ
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 ZEE — keep everything else short and quick.
zee·ROH→ZEE·roh
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "zero" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "ZEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ZEE-roh" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "zero" 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 "ZEE-roh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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