Home › Glossary › Letter H

Hearts

Games
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A trick-taking card game in which players generally try to avoid penalty cards and the highest score.

Detailed Definition
Hearts is a multiplayer card game where players pass cards, follow suit, and seek to avoid hearts and the queen of spades, though a bold player may attempt to take every penalty. The game turns ordinary winning into a danger and rewards careful reading of distributions. In poetry, hearts can signify emotional risk, taboo, and the wish to escape what one most fears receiving. Its language makes private feeling sound like a rule, a suit, and a threat.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet can use hearts as both the card suit and a symbol of emotional risk; The rule against taking hearts can inspire a poem about avoiding love while being drawn toward it; A poet might describe the queen of hearts as a feared or beloved figure in a family story; “Every trick leaves one more heart on the table” makes emotional damage concrete
Additional Notes
Hearts is usually played by four people, who try to avoid taking hearts and the especially costly queen of spades. It is a trick-taking game with a passing phase in many versions. In figurative use, hearts may connect the game with emotion, risk, penalty, or unwanted consequence.
Also Known As
Love Cards Affectionate Deck Heart Suit
Skip to main content