The /ɜː/ Sound: Bird, Work, Girl, First
The long central vowel in nurse, and why it is so often mispronounced.
/ɜː/ is a long vowel made in the middle of the mouth. It appears in some of the most common English words, like work, first, learn and world, and it has more spellings than almost any other sound.
How to Make /ɜː/
A relaxed, central, long vowel. No R, and no rounded lips.
1Mouth position
- Relax your tongue and let it rest in the middle of your mouth. It is neither high nor low, neither front nor back.
- Keep your lips neutral or very slightly spread. Don’t round them.
- Make the sound long: /ɜːːː/.
- Don’t add an R at the end. In British English, her is /hɜː/.
Tip: /ɜː/ is like a long, stressed schwa. Say about /ə/, then make that sound longer and stronger.
2/ɜː/ and the schwa
In stressed syllables you hear the long /ɜː/: her, prefer, return. In unstressed endings the same letters become a short schwa /ə/: teacher, doctor, better.
| Stressed /ɜː/ | Unstressed /ə/ |
|---|---|
| prefer /prɪˈfɜː/ | offer /ˈɒfə/ |
| return /rɪˈtɜːn/ | pattern /ˈpætən/ |
| concern /kənˈsɜːn/ | modern /ˈmɒdən/ |
Many Spellings, One Sound
These spellings usually give /ɜː/ in a stressed syllable.
| Spelling | Examples |
|---|---|
| er | her, term, person, serve, Germany /ˈdʒɜːməni/ |
| ir | bird, first, girl, third, shirt, thirty |
| ur | turn, nurse, church, Thursday, purple, hurt |
| (w)or | work, word, world, worse, worth |
| ear | learn, earth, early, heard, search |
| our | journey, courtesy |
Watch out: heard /hɜːd/ but heart /hɑːt/. work /wɜːk/ but walk /wɔːk/. And colonel is /ˈkɜːnl/!
Don’t Mix It Up
/ɜː/ is often confused with three other long vowels.
1/ɜː/ vs /ɑː/ and /ɔː/
| /ɜː/ | /ɑː/ | /ɜː/ | /ɔː/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| heard | hard | work | walk |
| firm | farm | word | ward |
| burn | barn | shirt | short |
| hurt | heart | bird | board |
| curt | cart | worm | warm |
2/ɜː/ vs /eə/
| /ɜː/ | /eə/ |
|---|---|
| fur | fair |
| stir | stair |
| purr | pair |
| were | where |
3Tip for German speakers
Tip: German speakers often use „ö“ (Wörk, Görl) and add an R. Keep your lips unrounded: smile slightly instead of pouting. And don’t pronounce the R. Useful for you: German /ˈdʒɜːmən/ and Germany both have this sound.
Practice
Common words and sentences with /ɜː/.
1Words you use every day
- work
- world
- word
- first
- third
- thirty
- Thursday
- learn
- early
- person
- prefer
- return
- turn
- girl
- birthday
- research
2Sentences
- The first girl in the world to learn German.
- Her thirty-third birthday is on Thursday.
- I prefer to work early in the morning.
- The nurse returned to the church with her purse.
- Were the words in the first verse or the third?
Check Yourself
Choose the word with /ɜː/, then open the answer.
-
Which word has /ɜː/: heart or hurt?
Show answer
hurt: /hɜːt/. heart is /hɑːt/.
-
Which word has /ɜː/: walk or work?
Show answer
work: /wɜːk/. walk is /wɔːk/.
-
Which word has /ɜː/: board or bird?
Show answer
bird: /bɜːd/.
-
Which word has /ɜː/: fair or fur?
Show answer
fur: /fɜː/.
-
Is the R pronounced in world?
Show answer
No. In British English, world is /wɜːld/.
-
Is the ending of doctor /ɜː/ or /ə/?
Show answer
/ə/. It is unstressed: /ˈdɒktə/.
Keep Practising
Related pages in the Pronunciation Studio.
Relaxed, Central, Long
/ɜː/ appears in some of the words you use most: work, first, learn, world. Getting it right makes your English instantly clearer.
Lips relaxed. Tongue in the middle. No R.
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