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Consonant

T Sound

The voiceless alveolar stop sound heard at the beginning of "time" or end of "cat". In American English, this sound has several variants depending on word position and surrounding sounds.

t
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):t

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Example Words

Main Example

time
Phonetic: taɪm

Common Words

timetaɪm
catkæt
taketeɪk
waterˈwɔtər / ˈwɑɾər
cityˈsɪti / ˈsɪɾi
betterˈbɛtər / ˈbɛɾər
hothɑt
tableˈteɪbəl
lightlaɪt
stopstɑp

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

t
time
taɪm
Compare with
T
dime
daɪm
t
to
tu
Compare with
T
do
du
t
bat
bæt
Compare with
B
bad
bæd
t
tie
taɪ
Compare with
T
die
daɪ

Tongue Twister

Tim took two toy trucks to town today.|Two toads totally tired tried to trot to Tetbury.|Ten tiny trucks tow ten tiny trailers.|Truly rural.|The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryConsonant
  • VoicingVoiceless
  • Place of ArticulationAlveolar
  • Manner of ArticulationPlosive/Stop
  • Mouth PositionThe tip of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge (the ridge behind the upper front teeth). Air is briefly blocked, then released with a burst of air. Vocal cords do not vibrate.