How to pronounce depth in American English

IPA /dɛpθ/ Syllables 1 · dehpth

dehpth

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Americans pronounce depth as dehpth (/dɛpθ/). You'll hear it in sentences like "The perspective in this drawing gives a sense of depth" or "I criticize the piece for lacking emotional depth or meaning" — more examples below.

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Sounds

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Clarity

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Stress

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Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "depth", the "p" 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.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "depth".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

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.

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.

p/p/

Press your lips together to stop the air, then release. No vocal cord vibration.

th/θ/

Place the very tip of your tongue slightly between your teeth. Blow air gently around it without voicing.

In real conversation

Hear "depth" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"I criticize the piece for lacking emotional depth or meaning."

ahy KRIH·duh·sahyz dhuh PEES fer LA·kuhng ih·MOH·shuh·nuhl dehpth or MEE·nuhng

"The perspective in this drawing gives a sense of depth."

dhuh per·SPEHK·tuhv ihn dhihs DRAH·uhng GIHVZ uh SEHNS uhv dehpth

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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.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "depth", the "p" 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.

depth→dehpth

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "depth" 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 "dehpth" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Every sound in "depth".

Hear "depth" in the wild.

Words that work the same way.

Looking for a different word or sentence?

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Questions people ask about this.

Stop reading about "depth". Start saying it.