k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce classroom in American English
KLAS·room
Start here
Americans pronounce classroom as KLAS-room (/ˈklæsˌrum/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The classroom was quiet during the final exam" or "The classroom was equipped with modern technology for presentations" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "classroom".
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.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
oo/u/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Let your tongue rest in the middle of your mouth, slightly raised.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
In real conversation
Hear "classroom" in the wild.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KLAS — keep everything else short and quick.
klas·ROOM→KLAS·ROOM
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "classroom" 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-room" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "classroom" 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-room" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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