How to pronounce zoo in American English

IPA /zu/ Syllables 1 · zoo Stress 1st syllable

ZOO

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Americans pronounce zoo as ZOO (/zu/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Zebras in the zoo" or "The zoo is closed for renovations" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "zoo".

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

z/z/

Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.

oo/u/

Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.

In real conversation

Hear "zoo" in the wild.

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

"The zoo is closed for renovations."

dhuh ZOO ihz KLOHZD fer reh·nuh·VAY·shuhnz

"The zoo is dedicated to conservation and education."

dhuh ZOO ihz DEH·duh·kay·duhd tuh kahn·ser·VAY·shuhn and eh·juh·KAY·shuhn

"The zoo was buzzing with lazy zebras."

dhuh ZOO wuhz BUH·zuhng wihth LAY·zee ZEE·bruhz

"Zebras in the zoo."

ZEE·bruhz ihn dhuh ZOO

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "zoo" 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 "ZOO" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.