How to pronounce afternoon in American English

IPA /ˌæftərˈnun/ Syllables 3 · af·ter·noon Stress 3rd syllable

af·ter·NOON

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Americans pronounce afternoon as af-ter-NOON (/ˌæftərˈnun/). The R is one continuous sound with the vowel — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch NOON — keep everything else short and quick.

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.

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In real conversation

Hear "afternoon" in the wild.

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"As discussed, the meeting has been moved to Thursday afternoon."

uhz duh·SKUHST dhuh MEE·duhng huhz bihn moovd tuh THURZ·day af·ter·NOON

"He pulled a loose tooth this afternoon."

hee PUULD uh LOOS TOOTH dhihs af·ter·NOON

"I have a scheduling conflict on Friday afternoon."

ahy hav uh SKEH·joo·luhng KAHN·flihkt ahn FRAHY·day af·ter·NOON

"I heard there is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon."

ahy HURD DHAIR ihz uh CHANS uhv THUHN·der·stormz dhihs af·ter·NOON

"I need to pick up my dry cleaning this afternoon."

ahy NEED tuh PIHK UHP mahy DRAHY KLEE·nuhng dhihs af·ter·NOON

"I will pencil you in for next Thursday afternoon."

ahy wihl PEHN·suhl yoo ihn fer NEHKST THURZ·day af·ter·NOON

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the third syllable, not the others. Stretch NOON — keep everything else short and quick.

AF·TER·noon→AF·ter·NOON

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 "afternoon" stressed in American English?

Stress falls on the third syllable — say "NOON" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "af-ter-NOON" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.

How do I pronounce the R in "afternoon"?

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.

Is the American pronunciation of "afternoon" 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 "af-ter-NOON" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Hear "afternoon" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.

Questions people ask about this.

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