How to pronounce her
Say it like HUR. Her is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress.
Click the play button next to American or British to hear how to pronounce her. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- HUR
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
Her pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- HURSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ur" in nurse.
American vs British pronunciation of her
- Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead.
British respelling: HUR.
What does her mean?
- Belonging to her (belonging to that female person or animal, or in poetic or old-fashioned language that ship, city, season, etc).
- Belonging to a person of unspecified gender (to counterbalance the traditional "his" in this sense).
- The form of she used after a preposition, as the object of a verb, or (colloquial) as a subject with a conjunction; that woman, that ship, etc, or (dialect) as a subject without a conjunction.
- A female person or animal.“I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.”
Where does her come from?
Cognate with North Frisian hör, Saterland Frisian hier, hiere (“her”), West Frisian har (“her”), Dutch haar (“her”), German Low German hör (“her”), German ihr (“her”).
Words that rhyme with her
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of her.
Questions about saying her
How do you pronounce her?
Say HUR. The American pronunciation is /hɝ/. In British English it is /hɜː/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in her?
Her is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: HUR.
Is her pronounced differently in British English?
Yes. Americans pronounce the r after a vowel; most British speakers leave it silent and lengthen the vowel instead. The British form is /hɜː/ (HUR).