A perfect rhyme for “hearts” ends in /ɑrts/, the sound from its stressed vowel to the end of the word. Near rhymes differ by a single sound, which is enough to end a line beside “hearts” without matching it exactly. Most of the near rhymes end in one of two sounds, /ɑrt/ or /ɔrts/.
Spoken aloud, “hearts” is /hɑrts/, respelled HAHRTS, one syllable. With a single syllable there is nothing in front of the stress, so a rhyme has to match the word in full.
“Hearts” has 12 perfect rhymes and 46 near rhymes in common use; starts, parts and arts are the most common.
In This Page
What Rhymes With Hearts
Starts, parts, arts and charts rhyme with “hearts”, each one ending in /ɑrts/ from the stressed vowel on. A word that changes one sound of that ending, such as start or reports, reads as a near rhyme instead.
- Starts
- Parts
- Arts
- Charts
- Darts
- Carts
- Sweethearts
- Tarts
- Smarts
- Departs
- Counterparts
- Ramparts
Perfect Rhymes With Hearts
One-Syllable Rhymes With Hearts
- Starts
- Parts
- Arts
- Charts
- Darts
- Carts
- Tarts
- Smarts
Two- And Three-Syllable Rhymes With Hearts
Sweethearts, departs and ramparts have two syllables and counterparts has three.
- Sweethearts
- Departs
- Ramparts
- Counterparts
Near Rhymes With Hearts
Start and heart are the most common near rhymes for “hearts”, and they end in /ɑrt/, the most frequent ending among its 46 near rhymes. After that comes /ɔrts/, the ending of reports and sports. A near rhyme for “hearts” differs from its /ɑrts/ ending by a single sound, which is what separates it from a perfect rhyme.
Near Rhymes For Hearts Ending In -art: Start And Heart
Words such as start, heart and part end in /ɑrt/, which is the ending of “hearts” without its final /s/.
Words Like Reports And Sports That Almost Rhyme With Hearts
Among the words ending in /ɔrts/ are reports, sports and sorts, each said with /ɔ/ in place of the /ɑ/ of “hearts”.
- Reports
- Sports
- Sorts
- Shorts
- Courts
- Passports
- Snorts
- Supports
- Ports
- Airports
- Warts
- Quartz
- Imports
- Transports
- Resorts
- Forts
Hearts Rhymes With An -arks Ending: Marks And Sharks
For marks, sharks and barks the ending is /ɑrks/, /k/ in place of the /t/ of “hearts”.
- Marks
- Sharks
- Barks
- Parks
- Sparks
- Remarks
- Landmarks
- Monarchs
- Starks
- Quarks
Hearts Rhymes Ending In -ants, Like Wants And Restaurants
Wants, restaurants and croissants rhyme loosely on /ɑnts/, which is /n/ in place of the /r/ of “hearts”.
- Wants
- Restaurants
- Croissants
Costs /ɑsts/ is a looser near rhyme for “hearts”, on an ending no other common word shares.
Does Wants Rhyme With Hearts
People often ask whether these words rhyme with “hearts”. Only the sounds from the stressed vowel on count, so two words can share four letters and still not rhyme.
| Word | Rhymes With Hearts | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Parts | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Arts | Yes | Perfect rhyme, matching every sound from the stressed vowel on |
| Wants | Near rhyme | /n/ in place of the /r/ of "hearts", near enough for the end of a line |
| Marks | Near rhyme | /k/ in place of the /t/ of "hearts", near enough for the end of a line |
| College | Consonance only | Same stressed vowel, and the final consonant is of the same kind rather than the same sound |
| Hurts | No | Same letters at the end, but said /ɝts/ |
| Reports | No | Same letters at the end, but said /ɔrts/ |
| Heart's | No | Pronounced identically, so it is a homophone rather than a rhyme |
Five-Letter Words That Rhyme With Hearts
Parts, darts, carts and tarts rhyme with “hearts” in exactly five letters. Letter count has no bearing on the rhyme, which follows the sound alone, so a four-letter word and a nine-letter word can share the same ending.
- Parts
- Darts
- Carts
- Tarts
The Ending Sound In Hearts
The rhyme sound of “hearts” is /ɑrts/, which consists of the stressed vowel /ɑ/ followed by /r/, /t/ and /s/. The same ending is shared by twelve other common words, among them starts, parts and arts.
Words That Look Like Hearts But Do Not Rhyme
“Hearts” and hurts, reports, sports and sorts share the spelling -rts, but the pronunciation of “Hearts” differs from each of them. Hurts and shirts end in /ɝts/ and reports, sports and sorts end in /ɔrts/, whereas “hearts” ends in /ɑrts/. They end on /ts/, as “hearts” does, so the match is partial: the closing consonants agree and the vowel is different.
| Word | Ending Sound | Closing Sound Shared With Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| Hurts | /ɝts/ | /ts/ |
| Reports | /ɔrts/ | /rts/ |
| Sports | /ɔrts/ | /rts/ |
| Sorts | /ɔrts/ | /rts/ |
| Efforts | /ɛfɚts/ | /ts/ |
| Experts | /ɛkspɚts/ | /ts/ |
| Shirts | /ɝts/ | /ts/ |
| Shorts | /ɔrts/ | /rts/ |
Rhyme Schemes With Hearts
With starts and parts as its rhymes, “hearts” fits the common stanza forms. In the scheme, lines with the same letter rhyme with each other.
| Scheme | Line endings | How The Lines Pair |
|---|---|---|
| AABB | Hearts / starts / parts / arts | Two couplets in a row, each pair rhyming on consecutive lines. |
| ABAB | Hearts / start / starts / heart | Alternating lines, with the near rhymes on the B lines and the perfect pair on the A lines. |
| ABCB | … / hearts / … / starts | Only the second and fourth lines rhyme, as in the ballad stanza and in most hymns. |
Using Hearts Rhymes In Poems And Songs
In “To Fanny”, Thomas Moore pairs “hearts” with arts:
May confer a diploma of hearts,
Thomas Moore (1779-1852), To Fanny
With my lip thus I seal your degree,
My divine little Mistress of Arts!
Richard Henry Stoddard matches “hearts” with departs in these lines from “The Flight of Youth”:
But when youth, the dream, departs,
Richard Henry Stoddard (1825-1903), The Flight of Youth
It takes something from our hearts,
For a couplet, the most common rhymes for “hearts” are starts and parts. In a lyric that needs a near rhyme, start and heart fit the line ending instead.
| Kind Of Line | Line-Ending Pairs | How They Match |
|---|---|---|
| Couplet with a one-syllable ending | Hearts / starts, hearts / parts, hearts / arts | Both words end in /ɑrts/ and have the same number of syllables |
| Near rhyme in a lyric | Hearts / start, hearts / heart, hearts / part | Same stressed vowel /ɑ/, one sound of the ending differs |
Compound Words That Rhyme With Hearts
A compound rhymes on its last word, so any compound ending in the same sound as “hearts” rhymes with it. Part’s, parts’ and heart’s each end on that sound, with the stress on the same syllable as in the one-word rhymes.
- Part's
- Parts'
- Heart's
- Art's
- Dart's
FAQs
The most common words that rhyme with “hearts” in everyday English are starts, parts, arts and charts. Darts, carts, sweethearts and tarts are the other everyday rhymes. These rhymes end in /ɑrts/, the sound of “hearts” from its stressed vowel to the end.
Things you can name that rhyme with “hearts” include carts, tarts, art and cart. Of these, art and cart are near rhymes, which change one sound of the ending rather than repeating it in full.
In common English, 58 words rhyme with “hearts” once near rhymes are counted alongside perfect ones. Of that total, twelve are perfect rhymes on /ɑrts/ and 46 are near rhymes that differ by one sound.
Near rhymes for “hearts” include start, heart, part, smart, apart and sweetheart. They share the stressed vowel /ɑ/ with “hearts”, and the sounds after it differ. In a lyric, listeners hear them as a full match, because the shared vowel is what they notice at speaking speed.
No, “heart’s” and “hearts” sound identical, so they are homophones rather than rhymes. For a rhyme, the sound before the shared /ɑrts/ ending has to differ.
“Hearts” ends in the same letters as hurts, reports and sports, yet none of them rhymes with it. None of them is said with the /ɑ/ of “hearts”, and two words rhyme only when the stressed vowel is the same.
