/ɑː/

long vowel

The Ah (father) Sound

as in car

How to make the /ɑː/ sound

Voiced — vocal cords vibrate
voiced voiceless
  1. 1Open your mouth wide, as if for the doctor.
  2. 2Keep the tongue low and flat at the back.
  3. 3Let the sound come from deep in the mouth: "aaah".

⚠ The most common mistake

Replacing it with a short "a", making "calm" rhyme with "cam".

Especially tricky for speakers of: Vietnamese, Korean.

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying car, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Practice words with /ɑː/

Tap the speaker to hear each word; tap the word for its full pronunciation page.

carfathercalmgaragedramaheartlaughpalm

More long vowels

/iː/ see/ɔː/ door/uː/ blue/ɜː/ bird

See all 44 sounds of English →