One syllable: Row.
roh
/ɹoʊ/
Row is pronounced roh (/ɹoʊ/). It has one syllable (Row), with the stress on "Row". Row is a noun meaning a line of objects or people arranged side by side, often in a straight, orderly formation. It can also refer to a queue or sequence of things. In certain contexts it denotes a fight or argument (row/raʊ in British English) or a verb meaning to propel a boat with oars. The pronunciation varies by meaning and region, especially between US and UK usage.
nounRow is a noun meaning a line of objects or people arranged side by side, often in a straight, orderly formation. It can also refer to a queue or sequence of things. In certain contexts it denotes a fight or argument (row/raʊ in British English) or a verb meaning to propel a boat with oars. The pronunciation varies by meaning and region, especially between US and UK usage.
- Mispronouncing /oʊ/ as a pure /o/ or /oː/; remedy: practice the glide, starting with a mid back vowel and moving toward a higher position while rounding lips. - Adding an extra syllable or shortening; remedy: keep it to a single syllable with a steady, quick glide, like in ‘go’/goʊ. - Confusing the meaning as the dialectal /raʊ/ for a quarrel; remedy: listen for context—line vs fight—and adjust the vowel accordingly. - Over-rolling the /ɹ/ or using a trill in American contexts; remedy: use a relaxed rhotic approximant, not a trill.
Tip: Record yourself saying multiple rows of objects and then saying a row: compare the two sounds and ensure the diphthong remains consistent.
How to Pronounce Row
"The front row sat silently during the performance."
"We planted a row of shrubs along the fence."
"They argued in the middle of the street; that row lasted for hours."
In US English, pronounce as /roʊ/ – a single stressed syllable with a long close-mid to close back rounded vowel; mouth starts with the lips rounded and the jaw relatively relaxed, finishing with a slight raise of the tongue toward the mid-high back position. In British English, the line sense commonly remains /roʊ/ (or /rəʊ/ in some accents), while the dispute sense can be /raʊ/ depending on dialect. Listen to the US dictionary audio for /roʊ/ to anchor the diphthong. IPA: US/UK: /roʊ/ (or /rəʊ/ in UK spelling variants). Audio reference: Pronounce or Forvo entries for /roʊ/ provide a clear transition from /r/ to /oʊ/.
Common mistakes include pronouncing /r/ as a rolled or tapped r in American contexts where the standard rhotic approximant is expected, and shortening the /oʊ/ diphthong to a lax /o/ or /oː/. Another error is conflating /roʊ/ with /raʊ/ by inserting a strong /a/ element, which should only occur if you’re using the dialectal dispute sense. Focus on a smooth glide from /ɹ/ to /oʊ/ with a mid-high back tongue position; avoid closing the lips too tightly, and avoid a monophthongal “oh” by keeping the glide.
In US English, /roʊ/ with a clear diphthong; rhotic /ɹ/ is prominent. In UK accents, some speakers favor /rəʊ/ with a less pronounced offglide, and some dialects preserve /roʊ/ as in rhotic varieties, while others reduce the vowel. In Australian English, you typically hear /roʊ/ with a slightly more centralized offglide and non-rhotic tendencies in some regions, but many speakers maintain rhotic pronunciation in careful speech. Overall, the main variation is the offglide quality and vowel height rather than the consonant structure.
Because it centers on a diphthong that shifts subtly in different accents and contexts: the /oʊ/ part glides from mid-back to high-back towards the vowel peak while keeping the /ɹ/ onset accurate. For non-native speakers, the challenge is producing the prolonged, rounded vowel without turning into a pure /o/ or a shortened /oʊ/. The distinction between /roʊ/ and /raʊ/ in dialects can also confuse learners who encounter both senses in speech.
No, there isn’t a silent letter in the usual senses of Row. The r is pronounced in the US and many UK contexts as /ɹ/. The confusion often comes from regional vowel variations and the British /raʊ/ for the quarrel sense—if you hear it in conversation, the vowel shifts from /oʊ/ to /aʊ/ depending on meaning and dialect. To master it, practice the exact diphthong /oʊ/ in isolation and in phrases to prevent devoicing or shortening.
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- US: rhotic /ɹ/ with a strong onset; diphthong /oʊ/ moves from mid back to high back without too much lip spread. - UK: many speakers use /rəʊ/ with a somewhat tighter lip rounding and shorter offglide; watch the spacing of tongue toward the palate. - AU: interpolate a slightly more centralized vowel, with a variable offglide often closer to /əʊ/ in casual speech; retain the rhotic position in careful speech. - IPA anchors: US /roʊ/, UK /rəʊ/ or /roʊ/, AU /roʊ/; mouth shapes align with /ɹ/ onset and /oʊ/ glide. - Practical drills: practice a sequence of 10 words containing /roʊ/ to maintain the stability of the diphthong across contexts; emphasize lip rounding at the start and easing into the gliding vowel.
Row derives from Old English gar re, like ‘rowan’? Wait, that’s not right. Let’s correct: The noun ‘row’ comes from Middle English rowe, ‘line of people,’ from Old English râ, rād? The etymology tracks back to Proto-Germanic *rahwô, with cognates in Dutch rij, German Reihe, Danish række, all meaning ‘row, line, rank.’ The sense of a line of objects in a sequence emerges in the 12th–13th centuries in English, with documents showing street rows and rows of houses. The boating sense, i.e., to propel a boat with oars, appears later in the 16th–17th centuries, likely developed from the idea of pulling in a line or sequence to move forward. The pronunciation settled into the two primary forms /roʊ/ for the verb/noun sense of line, and /raʊ/ in certain dialectal uses (notably the British noun ‘row’ meaning argument), with the latter spelling aligning with the earlier long-a vowel, later restricted primarily to British English in the sense of a dispute. The first known usage of the spatial sense is well-attested in Middle English, while the dispute sense is documented in Early Modern English writing, spreading throughout Britain and the Commonwealth. Modern Standard American English favors /roʊ/ for the noun/verb meaning, while /raʊ/ tends to appear in British English when referring to a quarrel, though many British speakers use /rəʊ/ or /roʊ/ in informal contexts as well.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Row" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Row"
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