k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce coordination in American English
koh·or·duh·NAY·shuhn
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Americans pronounce coordination as koh-or-duh-NAY-shuhn (/koʊˌɔrdəˈneɪʃən/). In "coordination", 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, a small move that separates 'classroom' from 'native'. So instead of koh·or·tuh·NAY·shuhn, you get koh·OR·duh·NAY·shuhn. Stress falls on the fourth syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "They practice passing drills every afternoon to improve coordination".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "coordination".
5 syllables, 10 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
oh/oʊ/
Start with your mouth slightly open, then close your jaw slightly as your lips round. Shift your tongue back slightly, then stretch the back up.
or/ɔr/
Start with the 'aw' jaw drop and rounded lips. Pull the tongue back and up while keeping the lips rounded for the R.
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.
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.
ay/eɪ/
Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.
sh/ʃ/
Flare your lips and lift the mid-front tongue close to the roof of your mouth. Blow air through without voicing.
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.
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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 "coordination", 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.
koh-or-tuh-NAY-shuhn→koh·OR·duh·NAY·shuhn
02
Inserting a vowel before the syllabic consonant.
In "coordination", 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.
coordination→koh·OR·duh·NAY·shuhn
03
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the fourth syllable, not the others. Stretch NAY — keep everything else short and quick.
KOH·OR·DUH·nay·SHUHN→koh·OR·duh·NAY·shuhn
04
Pronouncing the unstressed syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the second syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
koh·or·DUH·NAY·shuhn→koh·OR·duh·NAY·shuhn
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "coordination" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the fourth syllable — say "NAY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "koh-or-duh-NAY-shuhn" 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 "coordination"?
In American English, when /t/ sits between two vowels with the second one unstressed, it turns into a quick D-like flap. So "coordination" sounds closer to "koh-or-duh-NAY-shuhn" 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 third syllable in "coordination" 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 "koh-or-duh-NAY-shuhn" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
How do I pronounce the R in "coordination"?
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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