American English sound
/m/: how to pronounce “m” in mom, summer and time
/m/ is made with both lips closed while your voice hums out through your nose: mom, summer, time.
It's easy at the start of a word. The difficulty is at the end: in some languages a final m becomes n or just colors the vowel, so time sounds like “tine”.
/m/
the “m” sound
How to make the sound
- 1Close your lips gently.
- 2Hum: your voice should come out through your nose.
- 3At the end of a word, keep the lips closed until the hum finishes.
- 4Don't add a vowel after it: time, not “time-uh”.
- Tongue
- tip-down
- Lips
- neutral
- Voice
- voiced
Hear it in words
Tap a word to hear it.
At the start
In the middle
At the end
How it's spelled
- m / mm: mom, summer, time
- mb (silent b): comb, climb, thumb
- mn (silent n): autumn, column
Common mistakes
Turning a final m into n
Time becomes “tine”, some becomes “sun”. Close the lips at the end of the word.
Dropping it into the vowel
Portuguese and French speakers may nasalize the vowel and skip the m. Make the lip closure audible.
Pronouncing a silent letter
Comb, climb and thumb have no b; autumn and column have no n.
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs by one sound. If both words sound the same when you say them, practice this pair.
Try it
“My mom made lemon muffins for the team this summer.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound, /m/ included. Free, no account.
Questions
Why is the b in comb silent?
After m at the end of a word, the b stopped being pronounced centuries ago: comb, climb, lamb, thumb, bomb. It comes back in some longer words, like bombard.
How do I check my final m?
Say some and sun slowly in front of a mirror. For some your lips must be closed at the end; for sun they stay open.