Native Phrase Lab
WillowbrookWord 130 of 545 · Silent letters
How to pronounce hour
/ˈaʊə/ British English
OW·ə
2 beats (syllables). The strong beat is the first one.
a Crossed-out letters are silent.
✗ Many people say
HOW·ə
✓ Say
OW·ə
My tip
The h is silent. It sounds exactly like our.
In a sentence
I’ll be back in an hour.
Now you say it
- Listen to me two or three times.
- Say it slowly, one beat at a time: OW-ə.
- Say the sentence at normal speed.
Questions
How do you pronounce hour?
In British English, hour is pronounced /ˈaʊə/. Say it like this: OW-ə. The h is silent. It sounds exactly like our.
How many syllables are in hour?
When you say it, hour has 2 syllables: OW-ə. The strong beat is the first one, OW.
More words like this: silent letters
Practise these sounds
- The schwa, /ə/The small, weak sound in this word. It’s one of the 4 sounds you can practise completely free in my Sound Atlas.
- The strong beat: /aʊ/ as in “now”Meet this sound and hear it in my Sound Atlas. Free.
- The Sound MapAll 44 sounds of British English, in my voice. Free.
- Pitch Perfect: the Silent letters setHear me say it, record yourself, and see your sound under mine. A premium game.
- More gamesFive of my English games are free to play.