How To Pronounce Sour

sour

Phonemic

/saʊə/or/ˈsaʊ.ə/

Phonetic

[saʊəʴ]

Phonemic

/saʊr/

In British English, sour is pronounced /saʊə/ or /ˈsaʊ.ə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [saʊəʴ]. In American English, it is pronounced /saʊr/.

Sour 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

saʊə

Sour has one syllable in British English.

sour + -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.

/ˈsaʊə.rə/or/ˈsaʊ.ər.ə/

/ˈsaʊr.ɚ/

sour + -est

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

/ˈsaʊə.rɪst/or/ˈsaʊ.ər.ɪst/

/ˈsaʊr.ɪst/

Words That Rhyme With Sour

Questions About Sour

How do you pronounce sour in British English?

In British English, sour is pronounced /saʊə/ or /ˈsaʊ.ə/. The narrow phonetic transcription is [saʊəʴ].

How do you pronounce sour in American English?

In American English, sour is pronounced /saʊr/.

Do British and American English pronounce sour the same way?

No. British English has /saʊə/ and American English has /saʊr/.

Search All 10,380 Words In The App

Nearby Words

Learn English and Literature with Adroit Tutors on our website, and order course materials there too.