How To Pronounce Poor

poor

Phonemic

/pɔː/or/pʊə/

Phonetic

[pʰʷɔːʴ]

Phonemic

/pʊr/

In British English, poor is pronounced /pɔː/ or /pʊə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [pʰʷɔːʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /pʊr/.

Poor has one syllable. The British and American pronunciations are different, so listen to both.

Slashes / / show the phonemic transcription, the sounds that change meaning. Square brackets [ ] show the phonetic transcription, with the finer detail of how the sounds are actually made.

Syllables, Stress And Endings

Syllables And Stress

pɔː

Poor has one syllable in British English.

poor + -er

-er (comparative) is /ə/ in UK English and /ɚ/ in US English. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈpɔː.rə/or/ˈpʊə.rə/

/ˈpʊr.ɚ/

poor + -est

-est (superlative) is always /ɪst/. In UK English a linking /r/ is added because the spelling ends in -r.

/ˈpɔː.rɪst/or/ˈpʊə.rɪst/

/ˈpʊr.ɪst/

Words That Rhyme With Poor

Questions About Poor

How do you pronounce poor in British English?

In British English, poor is pronounced /pɔː/ or /pʊə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [pʰʷɔːʴ].

How do you pronounce poor in American English?

In American English, poor is pronounced /pʊr/.

Do British and American English pronounce poor the same way?

No. British English has /pɔː/ and American English has /pʊr/.

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