Sound Gym
career · carrier
Stress shift: ca-REER /kəˈrɪər/ vs CAR-ri-er /ˈkær.i.ər/ — the vowel AND the stress both change.
These two words look almost identical but sound quite different — and it's not a silent-E pattern. The difference is stress: where you put the emphasis changes the vowel and the syllable count. career stresses the second syllable (kuh-REER), while carrier stresses the first (CAR-ee-er).
Stress and syllable breakdown
career
kuh · REER
2 syllables — stress on 2nd
carrier
CAR · ee · er
3 syllables — stress on 1st
a profession or long-term working life — 'She built a career in medicine'
mouth shape
2 syllables — kuh-REER — stress on SECOND: first syllable is a quiet /kə/, stressed syllable ends with /ɪər/ (rhymes with 'ear')
career
/kəˈrɪər/
vowel length
something or someone that carries — 'aircraft carrier', 'a carrier bag', 'a disease carrier'
mouth shape
3 syllables — CAR-ee-er — stress on FIRST: short /æ/ like 'cat', then /i/, then weak /ər/
carrier
/ˈkær.i.ər/
vowel length
Key difference
career kuh-REER: the first syllable is a quiet, reduced /kə/ — stress lands on the end, which rhymes with ear. carrier CAR-ee-er: the first syllable is full and punchy — /æ/ like in cat — then two weaker syllables follow.
Why this isn't a silent-E pair
Silent-E changes a short vowel to a long one within the same syllable (cap → cape, pin → pine). Here, the final -er in career is part of the word and fully pronounced as /ɪər/. What actually changes between these two words is where the stress falls — and stress shifts change both the vowel quality and how many distinct syllables you hear.
Hear it in a sentence
“She dedicated her career to public health and disease prevention.”
“The aircraft carrier was the largest ship in the entire fleet.”
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.
career
Hear native speakers say “career” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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carrier
Hear native speakers say “carrier” in real sentences — news, lectures, and podcasts.
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How teachers explain this
Approved tips from the community, sorted by helpfulness
Word families
career family ▸
carrier family ▸
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