Main spellings (~40%)
⟨are⟩ ~24%
The most common spelling for this sound, used word-finally.
⟨air⟩ ~12%
A reliable spelling — when you see ⟨air⟩, it nearly always makes this sound.
⟨ar⟩
Used in the middle of words, especially before a vowel.
Before a vowel: When ⟨ar⟩ appears before another vowel letter (like in "vary" or "area"), it often makes the /ɛr/ sound rather than /ɑr/.
⟨ear⟩ ~4%
A handful of common words use ⟨ear⟩ for this sound word-finally.
Don't confuse with HEAR! Most ⟨ear⟩ words have the /ɪr/ sound (like hear, near, year). But bear, pear, swear, and wear use /ɛr/ instead.
Unusual spellings (~60%)
⟨ere⟩
Very common words — "there" and "where" are among the most frequent words in English.
Just four words! Despite being common, ⟨ere⟩ → /ɛr/ only appears in there, where, and their compounds. Most ⟨ere⟩ words like here and severe use /ɪr/ instead.
⟨eir⟩
Only one common word.
⟨aer⟩
From Greek — used in scientific and technical words.
⟨arr⟩
Doubled ⟨r⟩ in the middle of words.
⟨ur⟩
The word "bury" and its derivatives — one of English's most irregular spellings.
Truly irregular: bury looks like it should rhyme with fury but actually rhymes with berry. This is a historical oddity — the spelling is from one dialect, the pronunciation from another.