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Consonant

Voiceless TH

The voiceless dental fricative sound heard in words like "think", "thin", and "bath". Air passes between the tongue and teeth creating friction.

θ
Phonetic System (Merriam-Webster):θ

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Example Words

Main Example

think
Phonetic: θɪŋk

Common Words

thinkθɪŋk
thinθɪn
bathbæθ
threeθri
mouthmaʊθ
throughθru
thankθæŋk
thingθɪŋ
birthdayˈbɜrθˌdeɪ
monthmʌnθ

Minimal Pairs

Listen and compare similar sounds

θ
think
θɪŋk
Compare with
T
sink
sɪŋk
θ
thin
θɪn
Compare with
T
fin
fɪn
θ
three
θri
Compare with
T
free
fri
θ
thumb
θʌm
Compare with
T
sum
sʌm

Tongue Twister

Three thoughtful thieves thought thoroughly through Thursday.

Try it yourself

Practice saying this tongue twister

Technical Details

  • CategoryConsonant
  • VoicingVoiceless
  • Place of ArticulationDental
  • Manner of ArticulationFricative
  • Mouth PositionThe tip of the tongue is placed between the upper and lower front teeth or just behind the upper front teeth. Air is pushed through the narrow space between the tongue and teeth, creating friction. Vocal cords do not vibrate.