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 describes in American English
duh·SKRAHYBZ
Start here
Americans pronounce describes as duh-SKRAHYBZ (/dəˈskraɪbz/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "This section describes the specific system process" or "The patent application describes the invention in detail" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "describes".
2 syllables, 8 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.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
b/b/
Press your lips together, add vocal cord vibration, then release.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "describes" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"The methodology section describes how the experiment was performed."
dhuh meh·thuh·DAH·luh·jee SEHK·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ HOW dhee ihk·SPEH·ruh·muhnt wuhz per·FORMD
"The patent application describes the invention in detail."
dhuh PA·duhnt a·pluh·KAY·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ dhee uhn·VEHN·shuhn ihn DEE·tayl
"The research methodology section describes our experimental approach."
dhuh REE·surch meh·thuh·DAH·luh·jee SEHK·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ ar ihk·spair·uh·MEHN·tuhl uh·PROHCH
"This section describes the specific system process."
dhihs SEHK·shuhn duh·SKRAHYBZ dhuh spuh·SIH·fuhk SIH·stuhm PRAH·suhs
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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 SKRAHYBZ — keep everything else short and quick.
DUH·skrahybz→duh·SKRAHYBZ
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·SKRAHYBZ→duh·SKRAHYBZ
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "describes" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SKRAHYBZ" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "duh-SKRAHYBZ" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Why does the first syllable in "describes" 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-SKRAHYBZ" shows the reduced form so you can hear the casual rhythm directly.
Is the American pronunciation of "describes" 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-SKRAHYBZ" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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