'The' is the most common word in English, and it has two correct pronunciations. Most learners use only one, which makes their speech sound slightly off. The good news is that the rule is simple and mechanical once you understand it.
The Rule
Say /ðə/ (thuh) before a word that begins with a consonant sound, and say /ðiː/ (thee) before a word that begins with a vowel sound. Native speakers do this automatically because 'thee' makes the following vowel easier to reach.
Say 'thee' before a vowel sound
Say 'thuh' before a consonant sound
It Depends on Sound, Not Spelling
This is the key point that trips learners up. Look at the first sound, not the first letter. 'Hour' is written with H but starts with a vowel sound, so we say thee hour. 'University' is written with U but starts with a /j/ (y) consonant sound, so we say thuh university.
Common Exceptions and Special Cases
Silent letters change everything: 'the honest man' is thee (silent H), while 'the European' is thuh (the /j/ sound). With letters said alone, use the sound of the letter's name: 'the FBI' is thee because F is pronounced 'ef'. Finally, when you want to emphasize a word, you can stress 'the' as /ðiː/ even before a consonant: 'This is the place to go.'
Practice Tip
Read a paragraph aloud and mark every 'the'. Check the first sound of the next word and choose thuh or thee. For more on relaxed function words, see our guide to weak forms of function words.