American English sound
/t/: how to pronounce the American “t” in top, stop and cat
/t/ is made with the tongue tip on the gum ridge behind the upper teeth, with no voice. At the start of a stressed syllable it has a puff of air: top, ten, today.
It's also the most changeable American consonant: between vowels it becomes a quick tap (water), and before n it's swallowed in the throat (button). This page covers the basic t; the flap T and glottal stop pages cover the rest.
/t/
the “t” sound
How to make the sound
- 1Touch the tip of your tongue to the gum ridge just behind your upper teeth, not to the teeth themselves.
- 2Keep your voice off.
- 3Release with a small puff of air at the start of a stressed syllable: top, ten.
- 4Hold paper in front of your mouth: it should move on top, but barely on stop.
- Tongue
- tip-alveolar
- Lips
- neutral
- Voice
- voiceless
Hear it in words
Tap a word to hear it.
At the start
In the middle
At the end
How it's spelled
- t / tt: top, ten, letter
- -ed after a voiceless sound: walked, stopped, laughed
- th (rare): Thomas, Thai
- silent t: listen, castle, often
Common mistakes
Touching the teeth
Spanish, French, Hindi and Italian t is made on the teeth. Move the tongue back to the gum ridge for a crisper American t.
No puff of air
An unaspirated t at the start of a word sounds like d: ten becomes den. Add the puff.
A full t everywhere
A strong t in water and better sounds British. Between vowels, Americans use the quick tap of the flap T.
Who finds /t/ hard
Speakers of these languages often replace it with a sound from their own language. Linked languages have their own accent traps page.
Often say /ʈ/ instead
Hindi
Often say /tʃ/ instead
Portuguese
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs by one sound. If both words sound the same when you say them, practice this pair.
Try it
“Tom tried to take the ten o'clock train to town.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound, /t/ included. Free, no account.
Questions
Why does the t in water sound like a d?
That's the American flap T: between vowels, before an unstressed syllable, t becomes a quick tap. See the flap T guide on this site.
Is the t in often pronounced?
Both are standard: “offen” is the traditional pronunciation, and “often” with a t is common too. In listen, castle and whistle, the t is always silent.