Decoding exercises: "arV" and "arrV"

The sequence /ærV/, where V is any vowel, can be spelled "ar" (as in charity) or "arr" (as in carry).

The sequence /ɑːrV/ is very uncommon. It can be spelled "ar" in foreign words (as in sari or safari) or "arr" in derived words (as in starry, derived from star, or barring, derived from the verb bar).

The following table shows the most common sounds of "arV" and "arrV". Exceptions (such as /ə/) are shown in the examples.

Common words

 * "ar"
 * As /æ/: apparently, character, characteristic, comparison, guarantee
 * As //: area, parent, variable, variation, various
 * -ing forms: caring, comparing, declaring, preparing, sharing, staring


 * As /ə/: arise, around, salary, variety
 * Silent "a": separate


 * "arr"
 * As /æ/: barrier, carry, embarrass, marriage, marry, narrative, narrow
 * As /ə/: arrange, arrangement, arrest, arrival, arrive, narrate, narrator

Less common words

 * "ar"
 * As /æ/: characterize, parallel, paragraph, paranoid
 * As /ɑː/: guitarist, safari, sari
 * As //: apparent, hilarious
 * As /ə/: preparation, summary


 * "arr"
 * As /æ/: arrogant, arrow, barrio, carrot, parrot, sparrow
 * As /ɑː/: barring, barrio, scarring, starring, starry
 * As /ɒ/, /ɔː/: quarrel, warrant, warrior
 * As /ə/: arrival, arrhythmia, diarrhea

Proper nouns

 * "ar"
 * As /æ/: Arizona, Carol, Carolina, Carolyn, Gary, Harold, Karen, Paraguay, Sharon
 * As //: Bulgaria, Mary, Sarah
 * As /ə/: Hungary, Maria, Marie, Nicaragua
 * As /ə/ or silent "a": Barbara, Margaret


 * "arr"
 * As /æ/: Harry, Larry

Minimal pairs

 * // vs /æ/: Mary - marry;
 * // vs /ɑː/: sparing - sparring; staring - starring;

Variant pronunciations

 * /ər/, /r/: adversary, library, necessary, primary, temporary
 * /r/ (silent a), /r/: military, ordinary, secretary