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Rhotic R words

American and most Canadian, Irish and Scottish English are rhotic: R is pronounced everywhere it is written. Standard British and Australian English are non-rhotic and drop R unless a vowel follows it, so car ends on a long open vowel. Switch accents on these words and the R appears and disappears.


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The words

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Water, better, city: Americans tap the T like a quick D. Compare US and UK on every word.
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Keep practising

Browse every practice list or the word index, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.

To read the rules behind these words, see the pronunciation guides — including silent letters, word stress and American vs British. Or hear each accent on its own page: American, British, Australian.