Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

houston, we have a problem

/ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English

Syllables
Hous-ton, we have a prob-lem
IPA
/ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/
39
Scrabble Score
21
Letters
3
Syllables
15
Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred.

American usage; Humorous

Example Sentences

Etymology

A misquotation of the phrases “Houston, we’ve had a problem here” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem” said by the American astronauts Jim Lovell (1928–2025) and Jack Swigert (1931–1982), who were crew members of the Apollo 13 moon flight, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1970, after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion which led to the mission being aborted. The phrase in the form “Houston, we have a problem” was popularized by the film Apollo 13 (1995). The American screenwriter William Broyles Jr. (born 1944) altered the original phrases as he felt that “[t]he past perfect tense wasn’t as dramatic”. However, the phrase has been used earlier, for example, as the title of a 1974 television movie about the Apollo 13 mission.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/
  • British English: /ˈh(j)uːst(ə)n ˌwiː hæv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/

Usage

Questions

How do you pronounce houston, we have a problem?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/.
What does houston, we have a problem mean?
Used to report that a (major) problem has occurred.
Where does houston, we have a problem come from?
A misquotation of the phrases “Houston, we’ve had a problem here” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem” said by the American astronauts Jim Lovell (1928–2025) and Jack Swigert (1931–1982), who were crew members of the Apollo 13 moon flight, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas, on April 13, 1970, after an oxygen tank triggered an explosion which led to the mission being aborted. The phrase in the form “Houston, we have a problem” was popularized by the film Apollo 13 (1995). The American screenwriter William Broyles Jr. (born 1944) altered the original phrases as he felt that “[t]he past perfect tense wasn’t as dramatic”. However, the phrase has been used earlier, for example, as the title of a 1974 television movie about the Apollo 13 mission.

How to pronounce houston, we have a problem

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “houston, we have a problem”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈ(h)justən ˌwi hæv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “houston, we have a problem”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “houston, we have a problem” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.