k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce cafeteria in American English
ka·fuh·TEE·ree·uh
Start here
Americans pronounce cafeteria as ka-fuh-TEE-ree-uh (/ˌkæfəˈtɪriə/). Stress falls on the third syllable — keep everything else short and quick.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "cafeteria".
5 syllables, 9 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
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.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
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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 third syllable, not the others. Stretch TEE — keep everything else short and quick.
KA·FUH·tee·REE·UH→KA·fuh·TEE·ree·uh
02
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.
ka·FUH·TEE·ree·uh→KA·fuh·TEE·ree·uh
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "cafeteria" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the third syllable — say "TEE" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ka-fuh-TEE-ree-uh" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "cafeteria" 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 "ka-fuh-TEE-ree-uh" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "cafeteria" 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 "ka-fuh-TEE-ree-uh" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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