uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
How to pronounce attached in American English
uh·TACHT
Start here
Americans pronounce attached as uh-TACHT (/əˈtætʃt/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Actually, the annual activity report is attached" or "The barnacles attached themselves to the hull of the ship" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "attached".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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.
ch/tʃ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'sh' position. Flare your lips.
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 "attached" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Actually, the annual activity report is attached."
AK·chuh·lee dhee AN·yoo·uhl uhk·TIH·vuh·tee ruh·PORT ihz uh·TACHT
"As per our discussion, I have attached the revised proposal."
az per ar duh·SKUH·shuhn ahy hav uh·TACHT dhuh ruh·VAHYZD pruh·POH·zuhl
"The barnacles attached themselves to the hull of the ship."
dhuh BAR·nuh·kuhlz uh·TACHT dhuhm·SEHLVZ tuh dhuh HUHL uhv dhuh SHIHP
"Please find the attached document for your review and approval."
PLEEZ FAHYND dhee uh·TACHT DAH·kyuh·muhnt fer yer ruh·VYOO and uh·PROO·vuhl
"Please refer to the attached spreadsheet for the detailed breakdown."
PLEEZ ruh·FUR tuh dhee uh·TACHT SPREHD·sheet fer dhuh DEE·tayld BRAYK·down
"The documents you requested are attached for your reference."
dhuh DAH·kyuh·muhnts yoo ruh·KWEH·stuhd er uh·TACHT fer yer REH·fruhns
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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 "attached", 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.
attached→uh·TACHT
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch TACHT — keep everything else short and quick.
UH·tacht→uh·TACHT
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·TACHT→uh·TACHT
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "attached" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "TACHT" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "uh-TACHT" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "attached" 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-TACHT" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "attached" 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-TACHT" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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