Reference reading
dvor zhak
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How to pronounce Dvořák (Dvorak)
The composer's name Dvořák is pronounced DVOR-zhahk, stressed on the first syllable, with the ř sounding close to zh.
Dvořák
- IPA
- /ˈdvɔːrʒɑːk/
- Say it like
- DVOR-zhahk
DVORzhahk
The controls above compare IPA spellings. Reference recordings are below.
US: /ˈdvɔːrʒɑːk/ with an r. UK: /ˈdvɔːʒɑːk/ without it. Some speakers shorten the second vowel (zhak). Czech: [ˈdvor̝aːk].
Listen and compare
Compare a reference reading, a direct machine reading, and a contextual sentence. These are not separate US and UK recordings.
Direct machine reading
Dvorak
Direct machine reading0:00 / Listen
In a sentence
今晚演的是德沃夏克。
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COMMON MISTAKES
How people get Dvořák wrong
Often heard
DVOR-ak
Reading ř as a plain r. That is how the Dvorak keyboard layout is usually said, but for the composer, dictionaries give DVOR-zhahk with a zh sound.
SayDVOR-zhahk
Often heard
dvor-ZHAHK
Taking the accent on á for a stress mark. In Czech it only makes the vowel long, and Czech always stresses the first syllable.
SayDVOR-zhahk
Often heard
duh-vor-SHAH-kuh
Adding vowels after the d and the final k, which turns two syllables into four and shifts the stress. The name has two syllables: DVOR-zhahk.
SayDVOR-zhahk
IN A SENTENCE
Hear Dvořák in a sentence
Dvořák wrote his New World Symphony while living in New York.
Our orchestra is playing Dvořák's Cello Concerto tonight.
She switched her keyboard to the Dvorak layout to type more comfortably.
PRACTICE
Record yourself and compare
Tap record, say Dvořák once, and compare the rhythm of your waveform with the reference. Your recording stays in your browser and is never uploaded.
Reference
Yours
Who was Dvořák?
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was a Czech composer whose music draws on the folk traditions of Bohemia and Moravia. His best-known works include the Symphony No. 9 From the New World, the Slavonic Dances, the Cello Concerto in B minor and the opera Rusalka. From 1892 to 1895 he directed the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York.
Dvořák is a common Czech surname. The word originally referred to someone who served at a manor or royal court (dvůr), or a free farmer on a large estate. In Czech it is [ˈdvor̝aːk]: stress on the first syllable, a long á, and ř, a distinctive Czech sound that combines a trilled r with a buzzing zh. English replaces ř with zh.
The Dvorak keyboard layout is named after August Dvorak, an American educational psychologist who patented it in 1936 with his brother-in-law William Dealey. He was of Czech descent, but his family in the US pronounced the name DVOR-ak (/ˈdvɔræk/) with an ordinary English r, which is how the keyboard is usually said.
FAQ
Dvořák pronunciation FAQ
The questions people ask most when they look up Dvořák.
Is it pronounced DVOR-zhahk or DVOR-ak?+
For the composer, dictionaries give DVOR-zhahk, with a zh sound standing in for the Czech ř. DVOR-ak, with a plain r, is how the Dvorak keyboard layout and August Dvorak's American family say the name.
How do you pronounce the Czech ř?+
Czech ř is a trilled r made with the tongue raised, so it buzzes like zh at the same time. Very few languages have it and it is hard for most learners, so English pronunciations replace it with zh: DVOR-zhahk.
Do Americans and Brits say Dvořák differently?+
Only slightly. Both stress the first syllable and use zh. Americans pronounce the r (/ˈdvɔːrʒɑːk/), while British speakers usually drop it (/ˈdvɔːʒɑːk/). Some dictionaries also list a shorter second vowel, as in DVOR-zhak.
Is the Dvorak keyboard named after the composer?+
No. It is named after August Dvorak, an American educational psychologist at the University of Washington who patented the layout in 1936 with William Dealey. He shares the surname, which is why the spellings match.
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