uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce appreciate in American English
uh·PREE·shee·ayt
Start here
Americans pronounce appreciate as uh-PREE-shee-ayt (/əˈpriʃiˌeɪt/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I truly appreciate your help" or "I really appreciate your professional advice" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "appreciate" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "appreciate".
4 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
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.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
sh/ʃ/
Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
In real conversation
Hear "appreciate" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I appreciate everyone's input during our discussion earlier today."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt EHV·ree·wuhnz IHN·puut DUUR·uhng ar duh·SKUH·shuhn UR·lee·er tuh·DAY
"I appreciate movies that challenge the audience to think deeply."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt MOO·veez dhuht CHA·luhnj dhee AH·dee·uhns tuh thihngk DEE·plee
"I appreciate the complexity of the musical arrangement."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt dhuh kuhm·PLEHK·suh·tee uhv dhuh MYOO·zuh·kuhl uh·RAYNJ·muhnt
"I appreciate the way the artist uses light and shadow."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt dhuh WAY dhee AR·tuhst YOO·zuhz LAHYT and SHA·doh
"I appreciate you giving me another chance to make things right."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt yoo GIH·vuhng mee uh·NUH·dher CHANS tuh MAYK THIHNGZ RAHYT
"I appreciate your dedication and commitment to the team."
ahy uh·PREE·shee·ayt yer deh·duh·KAY·shuhn and kuh·MIHT·muhnt tuh dhuh TEEM
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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "appreciate", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
appreciate→uh·PREE·shee·AYT
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch PREE — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·pree·SHEE·AYT→uh·PREE·shee·AYT
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·PREE·shee·ayt→uh·PREE·shee·AYT
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "appreciate" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "PREE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-PREE-shee-ayt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "appreciate" 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-PREE-shee-ayt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "appreciate" 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 "uh-PREE-shee-ayt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "appreciate". 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.