4 syllables: how, old, are, you. Stress on old.
how-OHL-dahr-yoo
/haʊ ˈoʊld ɑɹ juː/
How Old Are You is pronounced how-OHL-dahr-yoo (/haʊ ˈoʊld ɑɹ juː/). It has four syllables (how-old-are-you), with the stress on "old". As a noun, a common English question asking for a person’s age. It uses a casual, clipped phrasing where the words blend in connected speech, especially in rapid conversation. It’s typically spoken with a rising intonation on the final word in polite contexts, and can sound abrupt if over-emphasized in formal settings.
nounA common English question asking for a person’s age. It uses a casual, clipped phrasing where the words blend in connected speech, especially in rapid conversation. It’s typically spoken with a rising intonation on the final word in polite contexts, and can sound abrupt if over-emphasized in formal settings.
"How old are you?"
"How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?"
"How old are you in this photo?"
- IPA reference: US /haʊ ˈoʊld ɑr ju/; UK /haʊ ˈəʊld ɑː juː/; AU /haʊ ˈəʊld ɑː juː/. Primary stress on the word old (second syllable). Start with the diphthong /aʊ/ in how, then tense /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ in old. The verb be /ɑr/ or /ɑː/ links the adjective to you. Keep you as a clear /ju/; some speakers reduce to /jə/ in casual speech. Practice linking: How-Old-Are-You with smooth transitions; avoid breaking into four isolated words. Audio reference: listen to native speakers repeating the phrase in sentences and mimic the rhythm and intonation.
Common errors: misplacing the /aʊ/ in how (as /oʊ/ or /a/), pronouncing old as /ɔːld/ with a broad /ɔː/ in non-rhotic accents, and over-separating the words so the phrase sounds stilted. Corrections: produce How with a tight /aʊ/ diphthong, ensure old uses a clear /oʊ/ or /oʊld/ in US or /əʊld/ in UK, and connect Are and You to avoid a choppy flow. Maintain the natural rhythm: emphasis on Old, then light pitch on You.
In US English, you’ll hear rhotic /r/ in are as /ɑr/ and a clearer /oʊ/ in old. In UK, non-rhotic tendencies reduce /r/ to a vowel-like placeholder in some contexts, so are may sound closer to /əː/ and old to /əʊld/. Australian generally aligns with non-rhotic tendencies but with more vowel flattening; the /oʊ/ may be realized closer to /oː/ and the final you often reduced to /juː/ or /jə/. Keep attention on linking: how- + old + are + you, while preserving vowel quality per dialect. IPA references: US haʊ ˈoʊld ɑr ju, UK haʊ ˈəʊld ɑː juː, AU haʊ ˈəʊld ɑː juː.
The difficulty lies in rapid, connected speech and the blending of sounds. The sequence involves a tight /aʊ/ in How, a tense /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ in Old, and a fast, weak-form Are and You. The main challenges are keeping the diphthong clarity in How and Old, preserving /ɑr/ or /ɑː/ for Are, and ensuring You remains light yet audible. Accurate mouth positioning, controlled airflow, and subtle linking are essential for natural, intelligible delivery.
The most distinctive feature is the strong two-syllable onset in How Old with a prominent diphthong in How (/aʊ/) followed by the tense /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ in Old. The sequence then reduces to a quick, light /ɑr/ and a high-front /ju/ in You in many dialects. The contrast between the strong How /haʊ/ and the lighter Are /ɑr/ and You /ju/ creates a characteristic cadence that native listeners recognize.
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The phrase How Old Are You is a natural-language construction rather than a single lexical item with a fixed etymology. It combines the interrogative how with the adjective old and the auxiliary are, plus you as the subject. Old traces to Old English eald, meaning “having existed for a long time” and “not young.” Are is the present tense of be, evolving from Old English aron/earun, with you as the second-person pronoun. The combination reflects a common English question pattern: a modal-like fronted element (how) followed by a copular verb (are) and a predicate adjective (old), then the subject pronoun (you). The modern, contraction-prone form How old are you? emerged through spoken English simplification in the 18th–19th centuries as rapid, casual speech favored shorter, less accented phrasing. In everyday usage, the phrase is often contracted in rapid speech to How old're you? or How old are ya? in informal registers, though the latter is less formal and regionally variable. The expression is ubiquitous across dialects, but pronunciation and rhythm shift with accents, influencing perceived politeness, formality, and speed of delivery. First known written use aligns with standard question formations in early modern English texts, but the exact origin is a natural evolution of the verb “to be” and the adjective “old” used in interrogative constructions. Overall, the phrase functions as a pragmatic tool for social information gathering, with pronunciation shaped by continuum from careful enunciation to seamless, clipped speech in everyday conversation.
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Words that rhyme with "How Old Are You"
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