How to pronounce house
Say it like HOWS. House 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 house. Choose Slow to hear each sound clearly.
- HOWS
- Main stress
- Lighter stress
- Unstressed
House pronunciation, sound by sound
Read the parts left to right, then blend them together without pausing.
- HOWSSay this part loudest and longest. The vowel is the "ow" in now.
American vs British pronunciation of house
American and British speakers say house in essentially the same way: /haʊs/ in the US and /haʊs/ in the UK.
British respelling: HOWS.
What does house mean?
- a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families“he has a house on Cape Cod”“she felt she had to get out of the house”
- the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments“he worked for a brokerage house”
- the members of a religious community living together
- contain or cover“This box houses the gears”
- provide housing for“The immigrants were housed in a new development outside the town”
Where does house come from?
Cognate with Scots hoose, oos (“house”), Yola heouse, houze, howze (“house”), North Frisian hüs (“house”), Saterland Frisian Huus, Húus (“house”), West Frisian hûs (“house”), Alemannic German hous, hus, husch, hüs, hüüsch (“house”), Bavaria
Words that rhyme with house
Practicing rhymes is a quick way to lock in the vowel sound of house.
Questions about saying house
How do you pronounce house?
Say HOWS. The American pronunciation is /haʊs/. In British English it is /haʊs/. Press play above to hear it at normal speed or slowly.
How many syllables are in house?
House is a single syllable, so the whole word carries the stress. Broken into parts: HOWS.
Do Americans and Brits say house the same way?
Almost exactly. The American form is /haʊs/ and the British form is /haʊs/, so you can use either pronunciation with any listener.