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 assets in American English
A·sehts
Start here
Americans pronounce assets as A-sehts (/ˈæˌsɛts/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She signed a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets" or "The prenup agreement protected her assets in case of divorce" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "assets".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then 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.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
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.
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 "assets" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He established a trust to manage his assets for future generations."
hee uh·STA·bluhsht uh TRUHST tuh MA·nuhj hihz A·sehts fer FYOO·cher jeh·nuh·RAY·shuhnz
"She signed a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets."
shee SAHYND uh pree·NUHP·shuhl uh·GREE·muhnt tuh pruh·TEHKT her A·sehts
"The prenup agreement protected her assets in case of divorce."
dhuh PREE·nuhp uh·GREE·muhnt pruh·TEHK·tuhd her A·sehts ihn KAYS uhv duh·VORS
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch A — keep everything else short and quick.
a·SEHTS→A·SEHTS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "assets" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "A" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "A-sehts" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "assets" 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 "A-sehts" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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