candidates

IPA /ˈkændədeɪts/ Syllables 3 · kan·duh·dayts Stress 1st syllable
KAN·duh·dayts
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Americans pronounce candidates as KAN-duh-dayts (/ˈkændədeɪts/). The T between vowels softens into a quick D-like flap, so it sounds closer to a D than a crisp T. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Common mistakes

Saying a hard "T" in the middle.

In "candidates", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.

Pronouncing the vowel before M/N too pure.

In "candidates", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. The "/æ/" vowel raises and fronts before M or N — tongue pulls up and forward, producing a tense [eə] glide (between /e/ and /ə/). Not a pure /æ/.

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Why it sounds different

Why "candidates" sounds like KAN·duh·dayts.

In "candidates", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. This is called the Flap T, a hallmark of natural-sounding American speech. So instead of KAN·tuh·tayts, you get KAN·duh·dayts.

In real conversation

Hear "candidates" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"A massive gap in candidates was apparent."
uh MA·suhv GAP ihn KAN·duh·dayts wuhz uh·PEH·ruhnt
"Public opinion polls suggest a close race between the candidates."
PUH·bluhk uh·PIHN·yuhn POHLZ suhg·JEHST uh KLOHS RAYS buh·TWEEN dhuh KAN·duh·dayts
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

All of these share phonetic features with this word — same trick.

LAND·skayptlandscapedan·TIH·suh·PAY·tuhdanticipatedtran·SLAY·tuhdtranslatedSTAN·der·DAHYZDstandardizedDEH·duh·KAYTSdedicateskuhn·SAH·luh·DAYTconsolidateTHUR·moh·dahy·NA·muhksthermodynamicsLAND·SKAYPlandscape
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

01

Saying a hard "T" in the middle.

In "candidates", the "t" between vowels sounds like a quick "d" — the tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth. /t/ or /d/ becomes a quick tap [ɾ] — sounds like a soft D. The tongue briefly taps the ridge behind the upper teeth.

KAN-tuh-tayts→KAN·duh·dayts
02

Pronouncing the vowel before M/N too pure.

In "candidates", the "a" vowel before M or N raises and fronts toward [eə] — the tongue pulls up and forward, breaking the vowel into a tense glide as it anticipates the nasal. The "/æ/" vowel raises and fronts before M or N — tongue pulls up and forward, producing a tense [eə] glide (between /e/ and /ə/). Not a pure /æ/.

KAN-duh-dayts→KAN·duh·dayts
03

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KAN — keep everything else short and quick.

kan·DUH·DAYTS→KAN·duh·dayts
04

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.

KAN·DUH·dayts→KAN·duh·dayts
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "candidates" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KAN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KAN-duh-dayts" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why doesn't the T sound like a T in "candidates"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "candidates" sounds closer to "KAN-duh-dayts" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the second syllable in "candidates" 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 "KAN-duh-dayts" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "candidates" 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 "KAN-duh-dayts" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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