k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce committed in American English
kuh·MIH·tuhd
Start here
Americans pronounce committed as kuh-MIH-tuhd (/kəˈmɪɾəd/). In "committed", 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. So instead of kuh·MIH·tuht, you get kuh·MIH·tuhd. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I am committed to being a better friend from now on" or "He is committed to his New Year's resolution to get fit" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "committed".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
In real conversation
Hear "committed" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"He is committed to his New Year's resolution to get fit."
hee ihz kuh·MIH·duhd tuh hihz noo YEERZ reh·zuh·LOO·shuhn tuh GEHT FIHT
"I am committed to being a better friend from now on."
ahy uhm kuh·MIH·duhd tuh BEE·uhng uh BEH·der FREHND fruhm NOW AHN
"The punishment should fit the severity of the crime committed."
dhuh PUH·nuhsh·muhnt shuud FIHT dhuh suh·VAIR·uh·tee uhv dhuh KRAHYM kuh·MIH·duhd
"We are committed to providing exceptional service and support."
wee ar kuh·MIH·duhd tuh pruh·VAHY·duhng uhk·SEHP·shuh·nuhl SUR·vuhs and suh·PORT
"I know I let you down and I am committed to doing better."
ahy NOH ahy LEHT yoo DOWN and ahy uhm kuh·MIH·duhd tuh DOO·uhng BEH·der
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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
Saying a hard "T" in the middle.
In "committed", 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.
kuh-MIH-tuht→kuh·MIH·tuhd
02
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "committed", the "d" 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.
committed→kuh·MIH·tuhd
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch MIH — keep everything else short and quick.
KUH·mih·TUHD→kuh·MIH·tuhd
04
Pronouncing the first 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.
KUH·MIH·tuhd→kuh·MIH·tuhd
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "committed" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "MIH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuh-MIH-tuhd" 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 "committed"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "committed" sounds closer to "kuh-MIH-tuhd" than to a crisp-T pronunciation. This is the flap-T rule, one of the most distinctive sounds of casual American speech.
Why does the first syllable in "committed" 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 "kuh-MIH-tuhd" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "committed" 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 "kuh-MIH-tuhd" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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