One syllable: hoped.
hohpt
/hoʊpt/
hoped is pronounced hohpt (/hoʊpt/). It has one syllable (hoped), with the stress on "hoped". Hoped is the past tense of hope, meaning you felt or expressed hope about something in the past. It conveys a wish or expectation that something would happen, often used in storytelling, reflection, or conditional contexts. In everyday speech, it ties a hopeful attitude to a completed or imagined past event.
Hoped is the past tense of hope, meaning you felt or expressed hope about something in the past. It conveys a wish or expectation that something would happen, often used in storytelling, reflection, or conditional contexts. In everyday speech, it ties a hopeful attitude to a completed or imagined past event.
"She hoped the rain would stop before the ceremony."
"He hoped to finish the project last night but ran out of time."
"They hoped for good news after the interview."
Pronounce it as /hoʊpt/ in US English and /həʊpt/ in UK/AU English. It’s a one-syllable word with a tense to lax vowel change: /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ followed by a voiceless /p/ and final /t/. Start with a rounded, closed jaw for /oʊ/ then release into /pt/ quickly. In connected speech, you may hear a slight vowel reduction before /pt/ in rapid talk, but the core is /hoʊpt/ or /həʊpt/.
Two frequent errors: (1) Using a voiced ending, like /d/ instead of /t/—say /hoʊp t/ with a crisp /t/ rather than a voiced ‘d’ sound; (2) Flattening the diphthong to a pure /oː/ or /o/—keep the glide from /o/ to /ʊ/ (US) or /əʊ/ (UK/AU). Practice by isolating /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ before a voiceless /pt/ cluster. Focus on a clean stop release for /t/ and avoid voicing the final consonant.
US tends to use /hoʊpt/ with a stronger /oʊ/ diphthong and a clear, aspirated /p/ before /t/. UK/AU use /həʊpt/, with a slightly reduced initial vowel in non-stressed contexts; the /əʊ/ diphthong is common. In Australian English, you may hear a more centralized starting vowel and a quicker transition into /pt/. Across all, the final /pt/ is unreleased or lightly released in rapid speech, but still voiceless.
It combines a precise vowel glide with a harsh stop consonant cluster /pt/. The challenge lies in keeping the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ intact while delivering a crisp /p/—/t/ sequence without voicing on /t/. Many speakers also attempt a voiced ending or omit the final /t/, leading to /hoʊpd/ or /hoʊp/. Practicing slow, then fast, with an emphasis on the /pt/ release helps solidify accuracy.
Hoped is a monosyllable with fixed primary stress on the entire word. There’s no internal syllable to stress, but the timing matters: the vowel must lead cleanly into a crisp /p/ and the /t/ should be released clearly. In rapid speech, you might hear a small vowel reduction before the /p/, but the final /t/ should stay audible to preserve the word’s integrity.
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Hoped derives from the Old English word hópian, which meant to hope or wish for. The root hóp originally referred to a strong desire or expectation, often with a sense of longing. Over time, the spelling shifted through Middle English to align with the modern form hoped, influenced by the verb form of hope (to hope). The word shares a common Germanic heritage with related terms in many Indo-European languages, all centering on desire, expectation, or trust in a favorable outcome. In early English, the concept carried religious overtones of hopeful trust in Providence, but by the 17th century it had become a general term for longing or expectation about future events. The addition of the past tense -ed marks completed action or recollection, as in “I hoped for the best” reflecting a past wish rather than an immediate ongoing hope. The semantic field broadened in literature and everyday speech, maintaining its core sense of wishing and expectation while applying it to various contexts (personal, social, hypothetical). By the 19th and 20th centuries, “hoped” was firmly established in standard English with its current pronunciation and usage, occupying a central role in narrators’ reflections and conditional constructions like “If only I hoped…”
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hoped" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "hoped" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "hoped"
-ped sounds
-ked sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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