The /s/ as in SUN /s/

One of the most common consonants in American English. Hear it in see, say, sit, set.

IPA /s/ Respell s Category Consonant
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The /s/ consonant, the sun sound, is the sharp, hissing sound American English uses for words like see, sit, some, and city. To make it, bring your teeth close together, hover the tip of your tongue just behind your upper front teeth, and push a steady stream of air through the narrow gap. A tiny groove down the center of your tongue channels that air into a focused, high-pitched hiss. Your vocal cords stay completely silent, which is what separates it from its partner /z/.

How to make it

Three small adjustments.

Get them right and the sound takes care of itself.

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

Mouth position for /s/ in see

Mouth shape

/s/ as in see

Tongue

Tip hovers near the alveolar ridge, creating a narrow groove down the center.

Lips

Slightly spread.

Quick tips

Two things to remember.

The groove in the tongue center is essential. Air must be channeled, not spread.

This sound is paired with /z/. They use the exact same mouth position, but /z/ adds voicing from your vocal cords.

Hear it in words

16 everyday words.

Tap any word for its full breakdown — every reduction, every flap-T.

so
SOH
save
SAYV
sale
SAYL
sand
SAND
sang
SANG
says
SEHZ
step
STEHP
stay
STAY
stop
STAHP
star
STAR
spread
SPREHD
squeeze
SKWEEZ
scale
SKAYL
sends
SEHNDZ
boss
BAHS
mass
MAS
Hear it in sentences

In real conversation.

5 short sentences where this sound shows up. Tap to play; click the title for the full breakdown.

Six snakes hissed across the soft grass.

SIHKS SNAYKS HIHST uh·KRAHS dhuh sahft GRAS.

This section describes the specific system process.

dhihs SEHK·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ dhuh spuh·SIH·fuhk SIH·stuhm PRAH·suhs.

Yes, the peace process needs success soon.

yehs dhuh PEES PRAH·sehs NEEDZ suhk·SEHS SOON.

Access to the success story is necessary.

AK·sehs tuh dhuh suhk·SEHS STOR·ee ihz NEH·suh·seh·ree.

The seahorse wraps its tail around seagrass to stay anchored.

dhuh SEE·hors RAPS ihts TAYL uh·ROWND SEE·gras tuh STAY ANG·kerd.
Where this sound transforms

Connected-speech rules involving /s/.

Each rule has its own page with examples and practice tips.

Rule 15

Y-Merging (gotcha, didja)

The two sounds merge: T+Y → CH, D+Y → J, S+Y → SH, Z+Y → ZH.
FAQ

Common questions about /s/.

How do I make the /s/ sound cleanly without a lisp?
Keep your tongue tip strictly behind your front teeth, never between them. A lisp shows up when the tongue slides forward and touches or pokes through the teeth, turning the sharp /s/ into a soft TH like in think. Anchor the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth. That keeps the tip pulled back and lets the air channel down the central groove into a crisp hiss.
Why does the letter S sometimes sound like a Z?
The letter S is actually pronounced as a buzzing /z/ more often than you might expect. When an S comes at the end of a word after a voiced sound, like in dogs, shoes, or is, Americans voice it as a /z/. It also turns into a /z/ between two vowels in words like music or busy. The sharp /s/ sound mostly happens at the beginning of words (sun) or after voiceless consonants (cats).
What's the difference between /s/ and the SH sound?
The difference comes down to the shape of your tongue and lips. For /s/ in see, the tongue tip is far forward, right behind the teeth, and the lips are slightly pulled back. For the SH sound in she, the tongue pulls further back into the mouth, the air spreads out wider, and the lips push forward into a flare. Learners tend to mix these up in both directions: Japanese speakers often make seat sound like sheet, while Spanish speakers do the reverse, making sheet sound like seat.

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