k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce community in American English
kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee
Start here
Americans pronounce community as kuh-MYOO-nuh-tee (/kəˈmjunəɾi/). In "community", 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 small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. It comes out as kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Communicate the community value regularly" or "He transferred from a community college to the university" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "community".
4 syllables, 8 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.
In real conversation
Hear "community" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Communicate the community value regularly."
kuh·MYOO·nuh·kayt dhuh kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee VAL·yoo REH·gyuh·ler·lee
"Community organizations are working to address food insecurity locally."
kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee or·guh·nuh·ZAY·shuhnz er WUR·kuhng tuh uh·DREHS FOOD ihn·suh·KYUUR·uh·tee LOH·kuh·lee
"Community policing helps build trust between officers and residents."
kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee puh·LEE·suhng HEHLPS BIHLD TRUHST buh·TWEEN AH·fuh·serz and REH·zuh·duhnts
"He transferred from a community college to the university."
hee trans·FURD fruhm uh kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee KAH·luhj tuh dhuh yoo·nuh·VUR·suh·dee
"She educated the community about their legal rights and responsibilities."
shee EH·juh·kay·duhd dhuh kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee uh·BOWT dhair LEE·guhl RAHYTS and ruh·spahn·suh·BIH·luh·teez
"The choir rehearses every Tuesday evening at the community center."
dhuh KWAHY·er ruh·HUR·suhz EHV·ree TOOZ·day EEV·nuhng uht dhuh kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee SEHN·ter
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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 "community", 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-tee→kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee
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·TEE→kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee
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·tee→kuh·MYOO·nuh·tee
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "community" 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-tee" 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 "community"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "community" sounds closer to "kuh-MYOO-nuh-tee" 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 "community" 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-tee" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "community" 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-tee" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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