a/æ/
Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.
How to pronounce accidental in American English
ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl
Start here
Americans pronounce accidental as ak-suh-DEHN-tuhl (/ˌæksəˈdɛntl/). In "accidental", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl. Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "That was an accidental message I sent".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "accidental".
4 syllables, 10 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
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.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
l/l/
DarkKeep the tongue tip down and pull the back of the tongue up toward the throat. The 'dark' sound comes from the back.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "accidental", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
accidental→ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl
02
Treating every L the same.
The L in "accidental" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.
accidental→ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch DEHN — keep everything else short and quick.
AK·SUH·dehn·TUHL→ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl
04
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
ak·SUH·DEHN·tuhl→ak·suh·DEHN·tuhl
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "accidental" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the third syllable — say "DEHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ak-suh-DEHN-tuhl" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "accidental" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "ak-suh-DEHN-tuhl" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "accidental" 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 "ak-suh-DEHN-tuhl" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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