How to pronounce cite in American English

IPA /saɪt/ Syllables 1 · sahyt Stress 1st syllable

SAHYT

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Americans pronounce cite as SAHYT (/saɪt/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I need to cite all sources properly to avoid plagiarism issues".

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "cite".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

ahy/aɪ/

Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.

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.

In real conversation

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"I need to cite all sources properly to avoid plagiarism issues."

ahy NEED tuh SAHYT AHL SOR·suhz PRAH·per·lee tuh uh·VOYD PLAY·juh·rih·zuhm IH·shooz

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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