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 address in American English
A·drehs
Start here
Americans pronounce address as A-drehs (/ˈæˌdrɛs/). In "address", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. This is called the DR Sounds Like JR, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. It comes out as A·DREHS. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "This is the right address, isn't it?" or "Her address is seventeen-eighty West Street" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "address" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "address".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
d/d/
PalatalizedTongue pulls back slightly from the D position, blending into R. Sounds close to 'jr'.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
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.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
In real conversation
Hear "address" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Before we conclude, I would like to address any questions you may have."
buh·FOR wee kuhn·KLOOD ahy wuud LAHYK tuh uh·DREHS EH·nee KWEHS·chuhnz yoo MAY hav
"Community organizations are working to address food insecurity locally."
kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee or·guh·nuh·ZAY·shuhnz er WUR·kuhng tuh uh·DREHS FOOD ihn·suh·KYUUR·uh·tee LOH·kuh·lee
"He raised a valid concern that we need to address immediately."
hee RAYZD uh VA·luhd kuhn·SURN dhuht wee NEED tuh uh·DREHS uh·MEE·dee·uht·lee
"Her address is seventeen-eighty West Street."
her A·drehs ihz seh·vuhn·TEEN AY·dee WEHST STREET
"Let's identify any potential roadblocks and address them proactively."
LEHTS ahy·DEHN·tuh·fahy EH·nee puh·TEHN·shuhl ROHD·blahks and uh·DREHS dhuhm proh·AK·tuhv·lee
"The home inspector found issues that we needed to address immediately."
dhuh HOHM ihn·SPEHK·ter FOWND IH·shooz dhuht wee NEE·duhd tuh uh·DREHS uh·MEE·dee·uht·lee
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
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 clean "dr" instead of a "j" sound.
In "address", the "dr" cluster blends into a "jr" sound — a natural American English pronunciation. /d/ shifts toward /dʒ/ ("j"), so DR sounds like "jr".
A-drehs→A·DREHS
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch A — keep everything else short and quick.
a·DREHS→A·DREHS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "address" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "A" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "A-drehs" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "address" 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 "A-drehs" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "address". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.