uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce according in American English
uh·KOR·duhng
Start here
Americans pronounce according as uh-KOR-duhng (/əˈkɔrdəŋ/). In "according", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. So instead of uh·KOR·tuhng, you get uh·KOR·duhng. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "According to the contract, cash is king" or "I cited all sources according to the required style guide" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "according".
3 syllables, 6 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.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
d/d/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Same as Flap T — a quick tap without stopping airflow.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
ng/ŋ/
Lift the back of your tongue to the soft palate. Lower your soft palate to let air flow through your nose.
In real conversation
Hear "according" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"According to the contract, cash is king."
uh·KOR·duhng tuh dhuh KAHN·trakt KASH ihz KIHNG
"I cited all sources according to the required style guide."
ahy SAHY·duhd AHL SOR·suhz uh·KOR·duhng tuh dhuh ruh·KWAHY·erd STAHYL GAHYD
"The bibliography was formatted according to academic standards."
dhuh bih·blee·AH·gruh·fee wuhz FOR·ma·duhd uh·KOR·duhng tuh a·kuh·DEH·muhk STAN·derdz
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "according", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.
uh-KOR-tuhng→uh·KOR·duhng
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KOR — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·kor·DUHNG→uh·KOR·duhng
03
Pronouncing the first 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.
UH·KOR·duhng→uh·KOR·duhng
04
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "according" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KOR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-KOR-duhng" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "according"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "according" sounds closer to "uh-KOR-duhng" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the first syllable in "according" 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 "uh-KOR-duhng" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "according"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
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