How to pronounce "man hour" in English
mænˈaʊɚ
man·OW·ər
Primary stress: OW
Hear native speakers say man hour in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “man hour”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
man
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
OW
Gliding diphthong with sustained vocal resonance.
ər
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("OW"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "man hour" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "man hour is" sounds like "man hour-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "man hour" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“productivity More carpet per man hour thinking it through I realize that all”— TED-EdWatch clip
“kg of rice we are spending very valuable land space somewhere close to 4 Square met around 8 minutes of man hour we are spending and around 2 to 5 kg of fossil”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“Throughout ______ to increasing labor productivity, more everything per man hour.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“time-saving devices right the shovel lets you dig more holes per man hour than you can with your bare hands money is a tool there's yet another definition”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“try obviously manufacturing is easy to measure how many cars you get per man hour and all that it's much more difficult you know if you're looking at”— CNBCWatch clip
“Driven by energy from fossil fuels, wasteful and abusive, and focused on labor productivity -- more of everything per man hour.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “man hour”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
productivity More carpet per man hour thinking it through I realize that all
Hear it in context: “man hour”
10 clipsThe English word “man hour” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as mænˈaʊɚ (phonetic respelling: man-OW-ər). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (man · OW · ər), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (OW). Grammatically, “man hour” functions as a noun. SayItVid indexes 10 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “man hour” in natural connected speech across American (US: 6 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TED-Ed, TEDx Talks, CNBC.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #1 · @5:43
“fossil fuel derived energy wasteful abusive and focused on labor productivity More carpet per man hour thinking it through I realize that all those attributes must be changed to move t to the”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #2 · @6:40
“and we have to think about that what we are spending to produce 1 kg of rice we are spending very valuable land space somewhere close to 4 Square met around 8 minutes of man hour we are spending and around 2 to 5 kg of fossil met around 8 minutes of man hour we are spending and around 2 to 5 kg of fossil”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @54:20
“and maybe shade on a hot summer day. Adam Smith, Invisible Hand in the Market, ______. Business exists to make a profit, the Milton Friedman school of thought. Throughout ______ to increasing labor productivity, more everything per man hour. It was natural enough to think this way in Friedman school of thought. Throughout ______ to increasing labor productivity,”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @120:18
“it is a tool for if we consider that tools are time-saving devices right the shovel lets you dig more holes per man hour than you can with your bare hands money is a tool there's yet another definition than you can with your bare hands money is a tool there's yet another definition”
- 🇺🇸 USCNBCClip #5 · @0:34
“1790 we did living like we did in 1790 so the whole goal I mean that's what you try obviously manufacturing is easy to measure how many cars you get per man hour and all that it's much more difficult you know if you're looking at hour and all that it's much more difficult you know if you're looking at”
Definition & Meaning: “man hour”
- Synonym of person-hour.
Example Sentences (3)
- “Ten workers for two days—that's 160 man-hours.”
- “productivity More carpet per man hour thinking it through I realize that all”
- “kg of rice we are spending very valuable land space somewhere close to 4 Square met around 8 minutes of man hour we are spending and around 2 to 5 kg of fossil”
Pronounce: “man hour”
- Pronunciation:
- man-OW-ər
- Syllables:
- man · OW · ər
- Written Hyphenation:
- man · hour
- Primary stress:
- OW
- IPA:
- mænˈaʊɚ
- Hear it in context
- man hour
Words that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"man hour" (⁄mænˈaʊɚ⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "man hour" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about man hour
How do you pronounce “man hour”?
“man hour” is pronounced ⁄mænˈaʊɚ⁄ (man-OW-ər). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “man hour”?
“man hour” has 3 syllables: man · OW · ər.
Where is the stress in “man hour”?
The primary stress in “man hour” is on “OW”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “man hour” mean?
Synonym of person-hour.
How can I hear “man hour” used in real sentences?
This page has 10 real-world video examples of “man hour” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “man hour”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).