poor · pour · power

poor and pour are homophones — both /pɔːr/. power looks similar but has a different diphthong /aʊ/ and two syllables: POW-er.

← Back to Sound Gym

poor and pour are homophones — both /pɔːr/, one syllable with a long /ɔː/ vowel. power looks similar but has a completely different diphthong /aʊ/ and is TWO syllables: POW-er.

⠿ reorder

An empty wallet — symbolising being poor

adjective — having little money or quality — 'poor family' · 'poor quality'

mouth shape

long /ɔː/ — lips round and jaw drops slightly — like 'floor', 'door', 'more' — one syllable

poor

/pɔːr/

vowel length

long /ɔː/

⠿ reorder

Water being poured from a jug into a glass

verb — to cause a liquid to flow — 'pour a glass of water' · 'pour the sauce'

mouth shape

identical pronunciation to poor — /pɔːr/ — homophones in most accents

pour

/pɔːr/

vowel length

long /ɔː/

⠿ reorder

A lightning bolt — electricity and power

noun — strength or energy — 'power cut' · 'power station' · 'willpower'

mouth shape

diphthong /aʊ/ — mouth opens wide for /a/, glides to /ʊ/, then schwa /ər/ — TWO syllables: 'POW-er'

power

/ˈpaʊ.ər/

vowel length

diphthong /aʊ/

Key difference

poor / pour /pɔːr/: one syllable, long round vowel — like floor, door. power /ˈpaʊ.ər/: two syllables — diphthong /aʊ/ then schwa — starts with a wide-open mouth like cow, how.

Example sentences

poor:“The village was very poor— few had electricity.”

pour:“Can you pour me a glass of water?”

pour:“It’s pouring with rain outside.”

power:“The storm caused a power cut across the city.”

Hear it in a sentence

“The family was too poor to afford heating during that winter.”

“She began to pour the coffee before he had even sat down.”

“The storm knocked out the power across the whole neighbourhood.”

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↗