k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce continents in American English
KAHN·tuh·nuhnts
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Americans pronounce continents as KAHN-tuh-nuhnts (/ˈkɑntənənts/). In "continents", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. This is called the Silent T after N, and it's one of the defining features of casual American English. It comes out as KAHN·tuh·nuhnts. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Plate tectonics explains the movement of continents over time".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "continents".
3 syllables, 10 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ah/ɑ/
Relax your lips and drop your jaw significantly. The tongue tip lightly touches behind the bottom front teeth and the back part of the tongue presses down a little to create more dark space in the back of the mouth.
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.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
n/n/
SyllabicThe schwa before N disappears — N becomes the vowel of the syllable. Go straight from the previous consonant to N.
t/t/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
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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
Pronouncing the silent T after N.
In "continents", the "t" right after N is dropped — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound. /t/ is completely silent — the tongue skips the T stop and moves directly from the N position to the next sound.
continents→KAHN·tuh·nuhnts
02
Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.
In "continents", the "t" is squeezed between other consonants and drops out — the surrounding consonants flow together without it — most natural in flowing, casual speech; in careful or formal speech, the T may be lightly present. /t/ is dropped entirely — the surrounding consonants flow together without the T.
continents→KAHN·tuh·nuhnts
03
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "continents", the short unstressed vowel before "n" disappears — the schwa is absorbed and the "n" becomes the syllable nucleus on its own. Schwa is absorbed — consonant becomes the syllable nucleus.
continents→KAHN·tuh·nuhnts
04
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KAHN — keep everything else short and quick.
kahn·TUH·NUHNTS→KAHN·tuh·nuhnts
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "continents" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "KAHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "KAHN-tuh-nuhnts" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the second syllable in "continents" 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 "KAHN-tuh-nuhnts" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "continents" 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 "KAHN-tuh-nuhnts" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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