k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce competitive in American English
kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
Start here
Americans pronounce competitive as kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv (/kəmˈpɛɾəɾɪv/). In "competitive", 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. It comes out as kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She plays softball on a competitive travel team" or "The annual percentage yield on this account is quite competitive" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "competitive".
4 syllables, 10 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.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly 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.
t/t/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Don't stop the airflow — just a quick tap.
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.
v/v/
Lift your bottom lip so its inner edge (where the wet part meets the dry part) touches the very bottom of your top front teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you blow air through.
In real conversation
Hear "competitive" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I want to draw your attention to the competitive advantages we offer."
ahy WAHNT tuh DRAH yor uh·TEHN·shn tuh dhuh kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv uhd·VAN·duh·juhz wee AH·fer
"Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly cost competitive."
ruh·NOO·uh·buhl EH·ner·jee SOR·suhz er buh·KUH·muhng uhn·KREE·suhng·lee kahst kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
"She plays softball on a competitive travel team."
shee PLAYZ SAHFT·bahl ahn uh kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv TRA·vuhl TEEM
"The annual percentage yield on this account is quite competitive."
dhee AN·yoo·uhl per·SEHN·tuhj YEELD ahn dhihs uh·KOWNT ihz KWAHYT kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
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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 "competitive", 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.
kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv→kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch PEH — keep everything else short and quick.
KUHM·peh·TUH·TIHV→kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
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.
KUHM·PEH·tuh·tihv→kuhm·PEH·tuh·tihv
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "competitive" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "PEH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv" 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 "competitive"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "competitive" sounds closer to "kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv" 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 "competitive" 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 "kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "competitive" 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 "kuhm-PEH-tuh-tihv" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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