k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce climate in American English
KLAHY·muht
Start here
Americans pronounce climate as KLAHY-muht (/ˈklaɪmət/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Climate change is causing sea levels to rise globally" or "The geography of the region influences the local climate" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "climate" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "climate".
2 syllables, 6 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.
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.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
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
Hear "climate" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Climate change is causing more frequent and severe weather events."
KLAHY·muht CHAYNJ ihz KAH·zuhng MOR FREE·kwuhnt and suh·VEER WEH·dher uh·VEHNTS
"Climate change is causing sea levels to rise globally."
KLAHY·muht CHAYNJ ihz KAH·zuhng SEE LEH·vuhlz tuh RAHYZ GLOH·buh·lee
"Global partnerships are essential for addressing climate change effectively."
GLOH·buhl PART·ner·shihps er uh·SEHN·shuhl fer uh·DREH·suhng KLAHY·muht CHAYNJ uh·FEHK·tuhv·lee
"Measurements of ocean temperature help track climate change."
MEH·zher·muhnts uhv OH·shuhn TEHM·per·cher HEHLP TRAK KLAHY·muht CHAYNJ
"She is researching the effects of climate change on biodiversity."
shee ihz ruh·SUR·chuhng dhee uh·FEHKTS uhv KLAHY·muht CHAYNJ ahn bahy·oh·duh·VUR·suh·tee
"The climate of the region is characterized by hot summers."
dhuh KLAHY·muht uhv dhuh REE·juhn ihz KA·ruhk·tuh·rahyzd bahy HAHT SUH·merz
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 "climate", 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.
climate→KLAHY·muht
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KLAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
klahy·MUHT→KLAHY·muht
03
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
KLAHY·MUHT→KLAHY·muht
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "climate" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KLAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KLAHY-muht" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "climate" reduce to "uh"?
Unstressed syllables in American English collapse toward a schwa — a lazy, neutral "uh" sound. The full vowel is what textbooks teach, but in actual American speech every unstressed vowel reduces. The respell "KLAHY-muht" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "climate" 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 "KLAHY-muht" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
Stop reading about "climate". 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.