air · heir

Homophones — both pronounced /ɛr/. The H in heir is completely silent, so the two words sound exactly the same.

air and heir are homophones — they sound completely identical: /ɛr/. The H in heir is always silent — a spelling fossil from Latin hērēs. Only context tells you which meaning is intended.

⠿ reorder

air

noun — the mixture of gases we breathe, or the space around us — 'fresh air' · 'air conditioning' · 'up in the air'

mouth shape

starts at /ɛ/ (short e), then glides into an r-coloured vowel — like 'fair', 'care', 'hair'

air

/ɛr/

vowel length

diphthong /eər/

⠿ reorder

heir

noun — a person legally entitled to inherit property or a title — 'heir to the throne' · 'sole heir'

mouth shape

identical pronunciation to air — the H is completely silent — say /ɛr/, never /hɛr/

heir

/ɛr/

vowel length

diphthong /eər/

Key difference

No pronunciation difference — both are /ɛr/. The challenge is spelling and meaning: air (what we breathe) vs heir (someone who inherits). The H in heir is silent — say it exactly like air.

Example sentences

air:“Open a window and let some fresh air in.”

air:“The hotel room has air conditioning.”

heir:“The young prince is heir to the throne.”

heir:“She was named sole heir to her grandmother’s estate.”

Hear it in a sentence

“She took a deep breath of cool mountain air.”

“He is the sole heir to the family business.”

Hear it in the wild

Real speech from native speakers — the most reliable way to check a pronunciation, since automated audio can vary by device and browser.

YouGlish↗

▶