ch/tʃ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'sh' position. Flare your lips.
How to pronounce chain in American English
CHAYN
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Americans pronounce chain as CHAYN (/tʃeɪn/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Break the chain and escape the dangerous cage" or "The manufacturing sector is facing supply chain disruptions" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "chain".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
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.
In real conversation
Hear "chain" in the wild.
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Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "chain" 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 "CHAYN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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