k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce contract in American English
KAHN·trakt
Start here
Americans pronounce contract as KAHN-trakt (/ˈkɑnˌtrækt/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "According to the contract, cash is king" or "The contract is binding and enforceable by law" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "contract".
2 syllables, 8 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/
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.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
a/æ/
Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
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 "contract" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"According to the contract, cash is king."
uh·KOR·duhng tuh dhuh KAHN·trakt KASH ihz KIHNG
"He breached the contract by failing to deliver the goods on time."
hee BREECHT dhuh KAHN·trakt bahy FAY·luhng tuh duh·LIH·ver dhuh GUUDZ ahn TAHYM
"I suggest we include a performance guarantee in the contract."
ahy suhg·JEHST wee uhn·KLOOD uh per·FOR·muhns ga·ruhn·TEE ihn dhuh KAHN·trakt
"The contract is binding and enforceable by law."
dhuh KAHN·trakt ihz BAHYN·duhng and ehn·FOR·suh·buhl bahy LAH
"She claimed that the contract was signed under duress."
shee KLAYMD dhuht dhuh KAHN·trakt wuhz SAHYND UHN·der duu·REHS
"The contract includes a clause for early termination if needed."
dhuh KAHN·trakt uhn·KLOODZ uh KLAHZ fer UR·lee tur·muh·NAY·shuhn ihf NEE·duhd
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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 "contract", 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.
contract→KAHN·TRAKT
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch KAHN — keep everything else short and quick.
kahn·TRAKT→KAHN·TRAKT
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "contract" 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-trakt" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "contract" 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-trakt" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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