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 chief in American English
cheef
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Americans pronounce chief as cheef (/tʃif/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The chief reason for the season is extremely deep".
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Every sound in "chief".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
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Questions
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Is the American pronunciation of "chief" 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 "cheef" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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