city

IPA /ˈsɪɾi/ Syllables 2 · sih·tee Stress 1st syllable
SIH·tee
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Americans pronounce city as SIH-tee (/ˈsɪɾi/). 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 "city", 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.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

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

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Why it sounds different

Why "city" sounds like SIH·tee.

In "city", 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. It comes out as SIH·tee.

In real conversation

Hear "city" in the wild.

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

"Have you ever been to New York City?"
hav yoo EH·ver bihn tuh noo YORK SIH·dee
"He sketched the architecture of the city while sitting in the park."
hee SKEHCHT dhee AR·kuh·tehk·cher uhv dhuh SIH·dee WAHYL SIH·duhng ihn dhuh PARK
"Her decision to move to a new city was a surprise."
her duh·SIH·zhuhn tuh MOOV tuh uh noo SIH·dee wuhz uh ser·PRAHYZ
"He's been living in the city for six weeks."
heez bihn LIH·vuhng ihn dhuh SIH·dee fer SIHKS WEEKS
"He's from a city near the coast."
heez fruhm uh SIH·dee NEER dhuh KOHST
"She needed to obtain a building permit from the city."
shee NEE·duhd tuh uhb·TAYN uh BIHL·duhng PUR·muht fruhm dhuh SIH·dee
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

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

uh·SIH·duh·teeaciditySIH·teezcitiesSIH·teezcity'sDIH·suh·BIH·luh·teedisabilityfuh·SIH·luh·teezfacilitiesstuh·BIH·luh·teestabilityuh·BIH·luh·teezabilitiesuh·BIH·luh·teeability
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 "city", 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.

SIH-tee→SIH·tee
02

Stressing the wrong syllable.

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

sih·TEE→SIH·tee
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "city" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "SIH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "SIH-tee" 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 "city"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "city" sounds closer to "SIH-tee" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Is the American pronunciation of "city" 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 "SIH-tee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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