How to pronounce 9 in American English

IPA /naɪn/ Syllables 1 · nahyn Stress 1st syllable

NAHYN

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Americans pronounce 9 as NAHYN (/naɪn/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The k-9 unit was brought in to search for drugs".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "9".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

n/n/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.

ahy/aɪ/

Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.

n/n/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.

In real conversation

Hear "9" in the wild.

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"The k-9 unit was brought in to search for drugs."

dhuh KAY NAHYN YOO·nuht wuhz BRAHT ihn tuh SURCH fer DRUHGZ

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "9" different from British English?

American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "NAHYN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.