herb
noun · a plant whose leaves are used to add flavour to food or as medicine
- URBɝːb (stressed)
- HURBhɜːb (stressed)
- US /ɝːb/URB Recorded voice
- UK /hɜːb/HURB Your device’s voice
Also said: US /hɝːb/.
How to pronounce herb
Herb is pronounced URB in American English, with a silent H, and HURB in British English, with the H. It is one syllable either way. Some Americans also say the H.
- 1 syllable
- Stress on URB
- US and UK IPA
- Checked in Cambridge and Oxford
IPA checked in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. Cambridge also lists /hɝːb/, with the H, for American English. The recording is American English.
Herb, sound by sound
Each sound in the IPA, with a word you already know that has it.
US American English/ɝːb/
URBstressed
- /ɝː/as in bird (US)
- /b/as in bad
UK British English/hɜːb/
HURBstressed
- /h/as in hat
- /ɜː/as in bird (UK)
- /b/as in bad
Say herb yourself
Press the microphone and say it once. Your browser writes down what it hears: if it writes herb, you were understood. If it writes another word, you see which sound changed.
Tip. US: start with the vowel, URB. UK: say the H, HURB.
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herb
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Common herb pronunciation mistakes
What people often say instead, and how to fix it. Say URB.
Not
HEHRBUsing the e of bed. The vowel is the ur in her.
Not
URB (UK)Dropping the H in a British accent. In standard British English the H is said: HURB.
Not
HUR-buhAdding a vowel after the B. It is one syllable that ends on B.
Herb in a sentence
Hear each one, slow it down, then say it. Words change a little when they join others, so practise them in sentences too.
Basil is my favorite herb for pasta.
Is mint an herb or a spice?
She grows every herb she cooks with.
Why do Americans say erb?
Because the H-less form is the older one. English took the word from French erbe, and it was said without an H. In the 1400s writers added an H to match Latin herba, but people kept the old sound for centuries.
In the 1800s British speakers began saying the H, following the spelling. Most Americans did not, so URB is still the more common American form. Cambridge also lists HURB for the US.
This changes the article: Americans usually say an herb, British speakers a herb. The man's name Herb always has the H.
Words that sound like herb
Rhymes and words that share its tricky sound. Open any of them in the checker and say it.
Say words like herb out loud with Slova
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