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 asks in American English
ASKS
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Americans pronounce asks as ASKS (/æsks/). You'll hear it in sentences like "She asks too many difficult questions" or "The survey asks about your age, your occupation, and your income" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "asks".
1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
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 "asks" in the wild.
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Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "asks" 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 "ASKS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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