k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce competitor in American English
kuhm·PEH·tuh·ter
Start here
Americans pronounce competitor as kuhm-PEH-tuh-ter (/kəmˈpɛɾəɾər/). In "competitor", 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, the kind of sound shift that makes everyday speech feel effortless. It comes out as kuhm·PEH·tuh·ter. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "He was accused of patent infringement by a competitor".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "competitor".
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.
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.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
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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 "competitor", 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-ter→kuhm·PEH·tuh·ter
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·TER→kuhm·PEH·tuh·ter
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·ter→kuhm·PEH·tuh·ter
04
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "competitor" 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-ter" 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 "competitor"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "competitor" sounds closer to "kuhm-PEH-tuh-ter" 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 "competitor" 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-ter" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "competitor"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
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