Lips
Mouth slightly open, lips fully neutral. No rounding, no spreading. Keep them still for the entire sound.
Long vowels · British English
/ɜː/as in nurse
The vowel in "nurse". A long, steady central sound with no "r" (in British English).
Example words: nurse, bird, her, word, learn
Mouth
How do you pronounce the /ɜː/ sound?
Tongue
Tongue sits mid-central, held even and level. Crucially, in British English it does not curl back for an "r". It stays flat and steady.
Length
Long. Hold it steadily: "her" and "bird" carry a full, sustained vowel. It's like a long, stressed version of the schwa.
Video lesson
Try it
- Say a schwa "uh", then simply stretch it out long.
- Keep tongue and lips frozen. Nothing curls, nothing rounds.
- Hold the steady sound for a full second: "errr" with no r.
- Try: nurse, bird, her.
Check
Record "bird". Listen for any r-coloring at the end. In a British model the vowel should sound identical from start to finish, like a long hum with the mouth slightly open. If you hear the sound change partway, your tongue moved.
Common trap
The spelling shows "ur", "ir", or "er", which tempts you to curl the tongue and say an "r". In British English there is no "r" sound here at all, just a long pure vowel. The other trap is letting the vowel drift toward "eh" or "oh". It must stay dead center, with nothing moving.
Practice: /ɜː/
Words
nursenˈɜːs
birdbˈɜːd
herhɜː
wordwˈɜːd
learnlˈɜːn
Sentences
The nurse works early every Thursday.ðə nˈɜːs wˈɜːks ˈɜːli ˈɛvəɹi θˈɜːzdeɪ.
I heard a bird sing first.ˌaɪ hˈɜːd ɐ bˈɜːd sˈɪŋ fˈɜːst.
She learned thirty new words this term.ʃˌiː lˈɜːnd θˈɜːti njˈuː wˈɜːdz ðɪs tˈɜːm.
Her purple shirt got dirty at work.hˌɜː pˈɜːpəl ʃˈɜːt ɡɒt dˈɜːti at wˈɜːk.
The girl turned thirteen on her birthday.ðə ɡˈɜːl tˈɜːnd θˌɜːtˈiːn ˌɒn hɜː bˈɜːθdeɪ.
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Sounds in the same group
Is /ɜː/ one of yours?
Accenty listens to you speak and shows the sounds you miss, in British English.
