How to pronounce bench in American English

IPA /bɛntʃ/ Syllables 1 · behnch Stress 1st syllable

BEHNCH

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Americans pronounce bench as BEHNCH (/bɛntʃ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "He waived his right to a jury trial and chose a bench trial".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "bench".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

b/b/

Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.

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.

n/n/

Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.

ch/tʃ/

Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'sh' position. Flare your lips.

In real conversation

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"He waived his right to a jury trial and chose a bench trial."

hee WAYVD hihz RAHYT tuh uh JUR·ee TRAHY·uhl and CHOHZ uh BEHNCH TRAHY·uhl

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Questions

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Is the American pronunciation of "bench" 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 "BEHNCH" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.