k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
How to pronounce corn in American English
KORN
Start here
Americans pronounce corn as KORN (/kɔrn/). You'll hear it in sentences like "I want more corn" or "The army colonel ate a single kernel of corn" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "corn".
1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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.
In real conversation
Hear "corn" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I want more corn."
ahy WAHNT MOR KORN
"The army colonel ate a single kernel of corn."
dhee AR·mee KUR·nuhl AYT uh SIHNG·guhl KUR·nuhl uhv KORN
"The farmer planted corn and wheat in the spring."
dhuh FAR·mer PLAN·tuhd KORN and WEET ihn dhuh SPRIHNG
"The strict colonel ordered a new type of corn kernel."
dhuh STRIHKT KUR·nuhl OR·derd uh NOO TAHYP uhv KORN KUR·nuhl
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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 "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 do I pronounce the R in "corn"?
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.
Is the American pronunciation of "corn" 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 "KORN" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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