Is “hire” one or two syllables?
“hire” has 1 or 2 syllables, depending on how you say it. Most dictionaries count 1. HYR (1) vs HY-er (2).
Every pronunciation, counted
| Say it like | IPA | Syllables | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HY-er | /ˈhaɪ.ɚ/ | hh ay · er | 2 | CMU dictionary |
| HYR | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | hh ay r | 1 | CMU dictionary |
Syllables are shown in ARPAbet (the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary's phoneme alphabet). Respellings put the stressed syllable in capitals.
Why the count varies
Smoothing before r. A diphthong followed by r (fire, hour, our) is heard either as one syllable with a glide, /faɪr/, or as two, /ˈfaɪ.ər/. Dictionaries write /faɪə/ or /ˈfī(-ə)r/ to cover both, which is why the count is argued about.
What the dictionaries say
- Cambridge (UK) /haɪə(r)/
- Cambridge (US) /haɪr/, /hɑɪər/
- Wiktionary /ˈhaɪ(.)ə/ (RP), /ˈhaɪɹ/ (GA), /ˈhɑɪ.əɹ/ (GA)
For haiku, sonnets and song lyrics
For haiku, sonnets and other syllable-counted verse, 'hire' is safest as 1 syllable, the count most dictionaries give. Poets have also used it as 2 syllables; either scans if the line is read naturally, but say which you mean if the count matters (haiku judges usually accept the dictionary count).
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Pronunciations from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, checked against Cambridge Dictionary and Wiktionary transcriptions. Hyphenation from the hyph_en_US patterns.