/ɚ/ — the /ɚ/ sound
the /ɚ/ sound
Vowels · Single vowels
This sound hasn't been scored yet.
How to make it
A /ə/ with the tongue curled back as for /r/, the two joined into one sound.
Watch a native speaker say it
See the mouth and tongue before you record — hearing a sound rarely tells you where the tongue goes.
Rachel's English · American English Sounds - UR [ɜ] Vowel - How to make the UR as in BIRD Vowel Watch on YouTube
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Words with this sound
Tap the speaker to hear a native speaker say it.
her
/hər/
hour
/ˈaʊər/
our
/ˈaʊər/
sir
/sɝː/
bird
/bˈɜːd/
early
/ˈɝli/
earth
/ɜːrθ/
fire
/ˈfaɪər/
hers
/ˈhɝz/
hours
/ˈaʊɚz/
hurry
/ˈhɝi/
other
/ˈʌðər/
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by exactly one sound. Listen until you can tell them apart, then say them yourself.
- ɚ
bird
/bˈɜːd/
ɔːbored
/bˈɔːd/
- ɚ
her
/hər/
ʌhuh
/hʌ/
- ɚ
her
/hər/
iːhe
/hi/
- ɚ
fern
/fɝn/
ɪfin
/fɪn/
- ɚ
bird
/bˈɜːd/
ebed
/bed/
- ɚ
bird
/bˈɜːd/
æbad
/bæd/
- ɚ
her
/hər/
ɑːhah
/hɑː/
- ɚ
herd
/hɝd/
ʊhood
/hʊ̈d/
Test yourself on this sound
Read these 8 words in one recording. The AI scores every sound and tells you whether your /ɚ/ came out right.