uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce affordability in American English
uh·for·duh·BIH·luh·tee
Start here
Americans pronounce affordability as uh-for-duh-BIH-luh-tee (/əˌfɔrdəˈbɪləɾi/). In "affordability", 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, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. So instead of uh·for·tuh·BIH·luh·tee, you get uh·FOR·duh·BIH·luh·tee. Stress falls on the fourth syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Housing affordability remains a pressing issue for young families".
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Record yourself saying "affordability" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "affordability".
6 syllables, 11 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
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.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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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 "affordability", 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-for-tuh-BIH-luh-tee→uh·FOR·duh·BIH·luh·tee
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the fourth syllable, not the others. Stretch BIH — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·FOR·DUH·bih·LUH·TEE→uh·FOR·duh·BIH·luh·tee
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·for·duh·BIH·luh·tee→uh·FOR·duh·BIH·luh·tee
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 "affordability" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the fourth syllable — say "BIH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-for-duh-BIH-luh-tee" 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 "affordability"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "affordability" sounds closer to "uh-for-duh-BIH-luh-tee" 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 "affordability" 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-for-duh-BIH-luh-tee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "affordability"?
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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