ar/ɑr/
Open wide for the 'ah' vowel. Lift the tongue back and up while flaring the lips for the 'r'.
How to pronounce argument in American English
AR·gyuh·muhnt
Start here
Americans pronounce argument as AR-gyuh-muhnt (/ˈɑrgjəmənt/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Her lawyer presented a brilliant argument" or "He cited previous studies to support his argument" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "argument".
3 syllables, 8 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
g/g/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.
y/j/
Lift the middle of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth, but stop just short of touching. /j/ is an approximant, not a stop. The tongue tip stays down, lightly resting near the back of your bottom front teeth. Voice runs through the whole gesture, and the tongue glides smoothly down into the next vowel. The lips stay neutral or pre-shape for the upcoming vowel (rounding early for OO in <em>youth</em>, for example).
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
SyllabicThe schwa before M disappears — M becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to M.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
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 "argument" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He cited previous studies to support his argument."
hee SAHY·duhd PREE·vee·uhs STUH·deez tuh suh·PORT hihz AR·gyuh·muhnt
"Her lawyer presented a brilliant argument."
her LAH·yer pruh·ZEHN·tuhd uh BRIHL·yuhnt AR·gyuh·muhnt
"She made a compelling argument that changed my mind entirely."
shee MAYD uh kuhm·PEH·luhng AR·gyuh·muhnt dhuht CHAYNJD mahy MAHYND uhn·TAHY·er·lee
"The thesis statement should clearly present your main argument."
dhuh THEE·suhs STAYT·muhnt shuud KLEER·lee pruh·ZEHNT yer MAYN AR·gyuh·muhnt
"Your argument would be stronger with additional supporting evidence."
yor AR·gyuh·muhnt wuud bee STRAHNG·ger wihth uh·DIH·shuh·nuhl suh·POR·tuhng EH·vuh·duhns
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "argument", 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.
argument→AR·gyuh·muhnt
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "argument", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
argument→AR·gyuh·muhnt
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch AR — keep everything else short and quick.
ar·GYUH·MUHNT→AR·gyuh·muhnt
04
Pronouncing the unstressed 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.
AR·GYUH·muhnt→AR·gyuh·muhnt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "argument" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "AR" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "AR-gyuh-muhnt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "argument" 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 "AR-gyuh-muhnt" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "argument"?
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 "argument" 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 "AR-gyuh-muhnt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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