Please be aware that the pronunciation could vary from one dialect to another.

However, the words you mentioned seem to be pronounced pretty much the same in both American (AmE) and English (BrE) accents. One main difference here is that BrE is typically non-rhotic ([r] sound is more gentle and subtle), while AmE is typically rhotic.

heir is pronounced "air"
hare and hair are pronounced "hair" (with the same vowel as "air")
here rhymes with "ear", but with "h" sound
hire rhymes with "fire", but with "h" sound
her is pronounced "her"

Your dictionary should provide another good way to check the pronunciation.

Finally, thanks to @Hellion, in listening, to tell which word is which from several possible homophones (e.g. heir or air), context will give you necessary clues.

Answer from Damkerng T. on Stack Exchange
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Grammarly
grammarly.com › commonly-confused-words › hair-vs-hare
Hair vs. Hare: What's the Difference?
There is no common usage of hare as any part of speech other than a noun. Hare pronunciation: Hare is pronounced /hɛr/, identical to hair.
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Sounds American
soundsamerican.net › article › the_difference_in_pronunciation_between_hair_hare_and_heir
The difference in pronunciation between "hair," "hare," and "heir"
July 10, 2022 - You can figure out the pronunciation of the words "hair" and "hare" if you recall a couple of phonic rules. The word "heir," however, can be a royal pain.
Discussions

pronunciation - How to distinguish words hare, here, hair, heir, hire, her, higher, hear? - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
How can I distinguish between the words 'hare', 'here', 'hair', 'heir', 'hire', 'her', 'higher' and 'hear' when pronounced? More on ell.stackexchange.com
🌐 ell.stackexchange.com
December 10, 2013
Hair-Hare [pronunciation] | WordReference Forums
Well, I'd like to know how to pronounce the words hair and hare. Are both pronounced the same way? Please, help me. Thank you! More on forum.wordreference.com
🌐 forum.wordreference.com
November 13, 2010
Do any English dialects contrast the words "hair" and "hare"?
http://phonology.org is an unpublished PhD thesis on Welsh English (Rhondda valley), including audio recordings. The description appears to exclude a HAIR/HARE distinction although it does identify a PANE/PAIN distinction. Unfortunately this doesn't answer your question but perhaps it excludes some possibilities. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/linguistics
9
119
September 17, 2021
What is the difference in pronunciation between heir and air hair and hare?
No differences! |"ehair" heir (emphasis on the 'e' more) whilst "ahir" air (emphasis on the 'a' more). they sound slightly differently but similar. "H"air ( more emphasis on the 'h') whilst hare is pronounced the same as hair it just has the different meaning More on hinative.com
🌐 hinative.com
4
December 2, 2019
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YouTube
youtube.com › learn with ears
Confusing Words in English, Her/Hair/Heir/Hare/Hear/Here ...
Many words in English are confusing. Some of the words have similar pronunciations or sound the same but are used differently. These words are often pronounc...
Published   February 28, 2022
Views   6K
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Learn to Pronounce HAIR 💇‍♀️ & HARE 🐇 American English Homophone Pronunciation Lesson #learnenglish - YouTube
Learn how to pronounce the words HAIR & HARE with this English pronunciation lesson. These words are homophones, words spelled differently with different mea...
Published   October 6, 2020
Top answer
1 of 2
7

Please be aware that the pronunciation could vary from one dialect to another.

However, the words you mentioned seem to be pronounced pretty much the same in both American (AmE) and English (BrE) accents. One main difference here is that BrE is typically non-rhotic ([r] sound is more gentle and subtle), while AmE is typically rhotic.

heir is pronounced "air"
hare and hair are pronounced "hair" (with the same vowel as "air")
here rhymes with "ear", but with "h" sound
hire rhymes with "fire", but with "h" sound
her is pronounced "her"

Your dictionary should provide another good way to check the pronunciation.

Finally, thanks to @Hellion, in listening, to tell which word is which from several possible homophones (e.g. heir or air), context will give you necessary clues.

2 of 2
1

How can I distinguish between the words 'hare', 'here', 'hair', 'heir', 'hire', 'her', 'higher' and 'hear' when pronounced?

Context. Here's some hints that can help you.

  • hare isn't too common of a word unless the conversation involves rabbits or animals, the expression hare-brained being a possible exception. So you can assume "hair" if you hear this most of the time.

  • hear is a verb and will be immediately preceded by a subject pronoun most of the time - I hear X... etc. here will not be immediately preceded by a subject pronoun. hear can be the first word of a sentence, but not too often - using hear in the imperative sense, where it would be the first word of the sentence, would be limited to an announcement scenario, or possibly where someone is telling you to listen closely.

  • heir isn't a common word outside of a royal or legal setting. Nine times out of ten this sound is the word air.

  • hire is a verb and will be immediately preceded by a subject pronoun most of the time, or be used in the expression for hire. Higher, being an modifier, will not. EDIT: hire is also a noun, typically used in the phrase new hire or recent hire.

  • her should not sound like the other words, but this could be the case in some dialects. Usually her will occur towards the end of a sentence and preceded by a preposition like "to" or "by." If it occurs towards the beginning of a sentence, it will be immediately followed by a noun, expressing possession - "Her face was beautiful."

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WordReference
forum.wordreference.com › english only › english only
Hair-Hare [pronunciation] | WordReference Forums
November 13, 2010 - Well, I'd like to know how to pronounce the words hair and hare. Are both pronounced the same way? Please, help me. Thank you!
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VoiceTube
voicetube.com › videos › 134970
How to Pronounce HAIR & HARE - American English Homophone Pronunciation Lesson - VoiceTube: Learn English through videos!
With over one hundred thousand videos with full English-Chinese subtitles, a built-in dictionary, pronunciation challenges and more, it’s no wonder that there are 4 million users that are learning English on VoiceTube the fun way.
Find elsewhere
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YouTube
youtube.com › teen buzz radio archives
Hair vs Hare - YouTube
Mannie explains words that are called Homophones.#englishgrammar #englishradio #learningenglish #hairvshare #teenbuzzradio
Published   July 15, 2021
Views   239
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YouTube
youtube.com › learn with nova
How to pronounce 'here', 'hair' & 'hare' correctly?? 🤔🤔 - YouTube
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Published   December 27, 2022
Views   530
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Facebook
facebook.com › reel › 500289421910267
Do you know how to pronounce 'Hair' and 'Hare'? 🤔 ...
Facebook Reels is the place to enjoy short form videos together. Discover the latest popular Reels and checkout what's going on with your favorite creators.
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Tarle Speech
tarlespeech.com › home › how to pronounce hair & hare – american english homophone pronunciation lesson
How to Pronounce HAIR & HARE - American English Homophone Pronunciation Lesson - Tarle Speech
October 6, 2020 - Jennifer Tarle from Tarle Speech and Language guides you through a quick pronunciation lesson with quick tips to have you sounding clearer in no time. Improve your accent and speak clearly with this ESL English pronunciation lesson.
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Facebook
facebook.com › LearningEnglishWithOxford › videos › do-you-know-how-to-pronounce-hair-and-hare-you-will-after-you-finish-watching-th › 500289421910267
Do you know how to pronounce 'Hair' and 'Hare ...
Learning English with Oxford, Oxford. 241,672 likes · 4,013 talking about this. Welcome to the official Oxford University Press Facebook page for English language learners!
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YouTube
youtube.com › english makes no sense
Pronunciation Help: Air, Hair, Hare and Heir #esl #english #englishteacher #languagelearning #air - YouTube
AboutPressCopyrightContact usCreatorsAdvertiseDevelopersTermsPrivacyPolicy & SafetyHow YouTube worksTest new featuresNFL Sunday Ticket · © 2025 Google LLC
Published   December 17, 2024
Views   1K
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YouTube
youtube.com › english hero
Here, Hear, Hair, Hare, Heir… Pronunciation Tip. #englishhero #inglesonline #ingles - YouTube
AboutPressCopyrightContact usCreatorsAdvertiseDevelopersTermsPrivacyPolicy & SafetyHow YouTube worksTest new features · © 2024 Google LLC · YouTube, a Google company
Published   March 9, 2023
Views   2K
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/linguistics › do any english dialects contrast the words "hair" and "hare"?
r/linguistics on Reddit: Do any English dialects contrast the words "hair" and "hare"?
September 17, 2021 -

There are a few English dialects in Wales (Abercraf and Port Talbot) that contrast the words pain and pane (realising them as [æj~ej] and [eː]). These dialects avoided the pain-pane merger that occurred late in Middle English. However, I can't find out if this contrast is also made before /r/, because Wikipedia says that these dialects have only one realisation of the SQUARE vowel, and Google isn't helping very much, so I don't know where to find this information.

Thanks in advance!

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YouTube
youtube.com › english4callcenters
Hear, Here, Hair, Her, Hare? 😵‍💫 #shorts - YouTube
Recuerda SUSCRIBIRTE, dejar un like y un comentario 😎👩🏻‍🏫 RECIBE UNA CLASE GRATIS CON NOSOTROS, ENTRA acá: ➡️ https://english4callcenters.com/ ⚡Recuerda...
Published   September 22, 2022
Views   26K
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Sapling
sapling.ai › mixup › hair_hare
“Hair” or “Hare”—Which to use? | Sapling
(noun) filamentous hairlike growth on a plant. (noun) any of the cylindrical filaments characteristically growing from the epidermis of a mammal. (noun) a filamentous projection or process on an organism. hare: (noun) swift timid long-eared mammal larger than a rabbit having a divided upper lip and long hind legs; young born furred and with open eyes. (verb) run quickly, like a hare.