k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce communities in American English
kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
Start here
Americans pronounce communities as kuh-MYOO-nuh-teez (/kəˈmjunəɾiz/). In "communities", 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, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities around the globe" or "Access to quality education remains a challenge for many communities" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "communities".
4 syllables, 9 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.
yoo/ju/
Start with the tongue mid-front raised high, almost touching the roof of the mouth (but not touching). Glide into a tight lip circle as the tongue back lifts.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "communities" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Access to quality education remains a challenge for many communities."
AK·sehs tuh KWAH·luh·tee eh·juh·KAY·shuhn ruh·MAYNZ uh CHA·luhnj fer MEH·nee kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
"Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities around the globe."
RAHY·zuhng SEE LEH·vuhlz THREH·duhn KOH·stuhl kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez uh·ROWND dhuh GLOHB
"The documentary shed light on the struggles of marginalized communities."
dhuh dah·kyuh·MEHN·tuh·ree SHEHD LAHYT ahn dhuh STRUH·guhlz uhv MAR·juh·nuh·lahyzd kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
"Volunteer organizations make a significant impact in their communities."
vah·luhn·TEER or·guh·nuh·ZAY·shuhnz MAYK uh suhg·NIH·fuh·kuhnt IHM·pakt ihn dhair kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
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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 "communities", 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-MYOO-nuh-teez→kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch MYOO — keep everything else short and quick.
KUH·myoo·NUH·TEEZ→kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
03
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·MYOO·nuh·teez→kuh·MYOO·nuh·teez
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "communities" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "MYOO" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuh-MYOO-nuh-teez" 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 "communities"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "communities" sounds closer to "kuh-MYOO-nuh-teez" 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 "communities" 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-MYOO-nuh-teez" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "communities" 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-MYOO-nuh-teez" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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