How to pronounce Did you say the temperature is thirteen degrees? in American English

Words 8 Difficulty Beginner Featured sound Y-Merging (gotcha, didja)

dihd did yuh you SAY say dhuh the TEHM·pruh·cher temperature ihz is ther·TEEN thirteen duh·GREEZ degrees

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In casual American English, "Did you say the temperature is thirteen degrees?" sounds like "dihd yuh SAY dhuh TEHM-pruh-cher ihz ther-TEEN duh-GREEZ". Several things happen here, and the headline one is the Y-Merging (gotcha, didja): the T/D/S/Z fuses with the following Y into CH or J. Keep stressed words long, unstressed words short, and link the consonants forward into the vowels.

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Sounds

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Clarity

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Stress

78%

Intonation

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Fluency

62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Saying the consonants separately.

The "" at the end of "" and the "y" starting "" blend together into "" — natural in casual conversation; in formal or careful speech, the two sounds stay separate. The two sounds merge: T+Y → CH, D+Y → J, S+Y → SH, Z+Y → ZH.

Pausing between the words.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. Final consonant "migrates" to next word — no pause between.

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Why it sounds different

What makes this sentence sound American.

The "" at the end of "did" and the "y" starting "you" blend together into "" — natural in casual conversation; in formal or careful speech, the two sounds stay separate. This is called the Y-Merging (gotcha, didja), how Americans glue words together so they sound like one phrase. It comes out as dihd.

The breakdown

What's happening in this sentence.

Small tricks that turn a textbook sentence into how an American actually says it.

→tʃ/dʒ/ʃ/ʒ

Y-Merging (gotcha, didja) between "did" & "you"The two sounds merge: T+Y → CH, D+Y → J, S+Y → SH, Z+Y → ZH.

Reduced Words (to, for, of) in "you"Full vowel reduces to schwa /ə/ or other weak vowel. Consonants may simplify.

⌣

Consonant-to-Vowel Linking between "temperature" & "is"Final consonant "migrates" to next word — no pause between.

Word by word

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Each word has its own page with examples, common mistakes, and related words.

did dihd you yuh say SAY the dhuh temperature TEHM·pruh·cher is ihz thirteen ther·TEEN degrees duh·GREEZ

Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

Saying the consonants separately.

dihd→dihd

Pausing between the words.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. Final consonant "migrates" to next word — no pause between.

TEHM-pruh-cher→TEHM·pruh·cher

Pronouncing the function word too fully.

"you" is a function word — in connected speech, the full vowel reduces to a quick "" sound and consonants may simplify. Full vowel reduces to schwa /ə/ or other weak vowel. Consonants may simplify.

yuh→yuh

Saying a clean TH.

The TH in "the" can be produced with the tongue tip pressing just behind the upper teeth rather than coming all the way through — an easier, faster articulation. Tongue tip presses behind teeth instead of coming through (easier articulation).

dhuh→dhuh

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Why is "you" said so quickly in this sentence?

Function words — articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns — reduce to short, unstressed schwa shapes in casual American speech. Pronouncing them fully like the dictionary entry is a dead giveaway of a textbook accent. Native speakers stress only the content words and let everything else collapse.

How are the words connected in casual American speech?

Americans don't pause between words. A consonant at the end of one word links forward into the vowel that starts the next; two vowels in a row get bridged by a tiny W or Y glide; an identical consonant repeated across a word boundary is held just once. The result is a continuous flow rather than a textbook word-by-word delivery.

Is this how the sentence is taught in textbooks?

Textbooks usually teach the citation form — every word pronounced fully, every consonant crisp, every vowel pure. Americans actually flap their Ts, drop function-word H's, link consonants forward into vowels, and reduce unstressed syllables to schwa. The respell on this page shows the casual form you'll hear in real conversations rather than the textbook version.

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Common mistakes

Saying the consonants separately.

Pausing between the words.

What makes this sentence sound American.

What's happening in this sentence.

Tap any word for its full breakdown.

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

Saying the consonants separately.

Pausing between the words.

Pronouncing the function word too fully.

Saying a clean TH.

Questions people ask about this.

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