k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce complete in American English
kuhm·PLEET
Start here
Americans pronounce complete as kuhm-PLEET (/kəmˈplit/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I have to complete several tasks today" or "Every student must complete the assignment" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "complete" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "complete".
2 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.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
l/l/
Place the tip of your tongue against the alveolar ridge just behind your top front teeth, the same contact point as /t/, /d/, and /n/. The difference is what happens to the air: for /l/, you let it flow continuously around the <em>sides</em> of the tongue (that's why /l/ is called a lateral). Turn your voice on the whole time. Lips stay relaxed, no rounding or flaring. For the Dark L variant at the end of a syllable, also pull the back of the tongue up and back toward the soft palate.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
In real conversation
Hear "complete" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"All employees must complete the mandatory safety training before starting work."
AHL uhm·PLOY·eez muhst kuhm·PLEET dhuh MAN·duh·tor·ee SAYF·tee TRAY·nuhng buh·FOR STAR·tuhng WURK
"Every student must complete the assignment."
EHV·ree STOO·duhnt muhst kuhm·PLEET dhee uh·SAHYN·muhnt
"He requested additional resources to complete the project on time."
hee ruh·KWEH·stuhd uh·DIH·shuh·nuhl REE·sor·suhz tuh kuhm·PLEET dhuh PRAH·jehkt ahn TAHYM
"He'll have to complete the training by Friday."
heel haf tuh kuhm·PLEET dhuh TRAY·nuhng bahy FRAHY·day
"I have to complete several tasks today."
ahy hav tuh kuhm·PLEET SEHV·ruhl TASKS tuh·DAY
"I need to complete the prerequisite course before advancing."
ahy NEED tuh kuhm·PLEET dhuh pree·REH·kwuh·zuht KORS buh·FOR uhd·VAN·suhng
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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
Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.
In "complete", the "t" 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.
complete→kuhm·PLEET
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch PLEET — keep everything else short and quick.
KUHM·pleet→kuhm·PLEET
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·PLEET→kuhm·PLEET
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "complete" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "PLEET" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuhm-PLEET" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "complete" 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-PLEET" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "complete" 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-PLEET" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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