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 depends in American English
duh·PEHNDZ
Start here
Americans pronounce depends as duh-PEHNDZ (/dəˈpɛndz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "It really depends on the situation" or "The success of the project depends upon collaboration" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "depends" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "depends".
2 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
uh/ʌ/
Relax your lips, jaw, and tongue completely. Drop your jaw slightly and keep the tongue neutral.
p/p/
Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.
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.
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.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "depends" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"It really depends on the situation."
iht REE·lee duh·PEHNDZ ahn dhuh sih·choo·AY·shuhn
"Regional stability depends on continued dialogue between neighbors."
REE·juh·nuhl stuh·BIH·luh·tee duh·PEHNDZ ahn kuhn·TIHN·yood DAHY·uh·lahg buh·TWEEN NAY·berz
"The ecosystem depends on a balance of predators and prey."
dhee EE·koh·sihs·tuhm duh·PEHNDZ ahn uh BA·luhns uhv PREH·duh·terz and PRAY
"The success of the project depends upon collaboration."
dhuh suhk·SEHS uhv dhuh PRAH·juhkt duh·PEHNDZ uh·PAHN kuh·la·buh·RAY·shuhn
"The success of this project depends on effective collaboration."
dhuh suhk·SEHS uhv dhihs PRAH·jehkt duh·PEHNDZ ahn uh·FEHK·tuhv kuh·la·buh·RAY·shuhn
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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
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch PEHNDZ — keep everything else short and quick.
DUH·pehndz→duh·PEHNDZ
02
Pronouncing the first syllable too fully.
Don't pronounce the first syllable too fully. The unstressed syllable reduces to a schwa — the lazy "uh" sound — in casual speech.
DUH·PEHNDZ→duh·PEHNDZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "depends" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "PEHNDZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "duh-PEHNDZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "depends" 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 "duh-PEHNDZ" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "depends" 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 "duh-PEHNDZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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