k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce consider in American English
kuhn·SIH·der
Start here
Americans pronounce consider as kuhn-SIH-der (/kənˈsɪdər/). In "consider", 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. So instead of kuhn·SIH·ter, you get kuhn·SIH·der. Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "There are several available options to consider" or "I strongly believe that we should consider all available options" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "consider".
3 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.
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.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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.
d/d/
FlapQuickly bounce the front of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. Same as Flap T — a quick tap without stopping airflow.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
In real conversation
Hear "consider" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I encourage you to consider the long-term benefits we have discussed."
ahy uhn·KUR·ihj yoo tuh kuhn·SIH·der dhuh lahng TURM BEH·nuh·fuhts wee huhv duh·SKUHST
"I strongly believe that we should consider all available options."
ahy STRAHNG·lee buh·LEEV dhuht wee shuhd kuhn·SIH·der AHL uh·VAY·luh·buhl AHP·shuhnz
"There are several available options to consider."
DHAIR er SEH·ver·uhl uh·VAY·luh·buhl AHP·shuhnz tuh kuhn·SIH·der
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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 "consider", 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.
kuhn-SIH-ter→kuhn·SIH·der
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SIH — keep everything else short and quick.
KUHN·sih·DER→kuhn·SIH·der
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.
KUHN·SIH·der→kuhn·SIH·der
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 "consider" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SIH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "kuhn-SIH-der" 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 "consider"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "consider" sounds closer to "kuhn-SIH-der" 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 "consider" 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 "kuhn-SIH-der" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "consider"?
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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