d/d/
Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.
How to pronounce dente in American English
DEHN·tay
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Americans pronounce dente as DEHN-tay (/ˈdɛnteɪ/). In "dente", 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 DEHN·tay. Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "The pasta should be cooked al dente, which means slightly firm".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "dente".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
eh/ɛ/
Drop your jaw moderately. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and lift the mid-front part slightly toward the roof.
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.
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.
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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 "dente", 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.
dente→DEHN·tay
02
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the first syllable, not the others. Stretch DEHN — keep everything else short and quick.
dehn·TAY→DEHN·tay
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "dente" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "DEHN" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "DEHN-tay" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "dente" 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 "DEHN-tay" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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