k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce classmate in American English
KLAS·mayt
Start here
Americans pronounce classmate as KLAS-mayt (/ˈklæsmeɪt/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She borrowed a pen from her classmate during the pop quiz".
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "classmate" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "classmate".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
a/æ/
Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
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.
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.
Find another
Looking for a different word or sentence?
Search the entire library
/
Press / anywhere to focus the search box.
Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "classmate", the "t" is not released — the articulators get into position but hold without the burst of air. Air stops but there's no release burst — the articulators hold position.
classmate→KLAS·mayt
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KLAS — keep everything else short and quick.
klas·MAYT→KLAS·mayt
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "classmate" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KLAS" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KLAS-mayt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "classmate" 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 "KLAS-mayt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "classmate". Start saying it.
SayWaader is the AI pronunciation coach for American English. Practice 5 minutes a day. Get a 5-axes accent assessment. Sound like you live here.