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.
How to pronounce efforts in American English
EH·ferts
Start here
Americans pronounce efforts as EH-ferts (/ˈɛfərts/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "I recommend we assign a point person to coordinate the efforts" or "Conservation efforts are protecting the rainforest from deforestation" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "efforts".
2 syllables, 5 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
f/f/
Lift your bottom lip to touch the very bottom of your top front teeth. Blow air through this contact point without voicing.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips neutral.
t/t/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Keep your jaw relaxed. Stop the air, then release with a puff.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
In real conversation
Hear "efforts" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Conservation efforts are protecting the rainforest from deforestation."
kahn·ser·VAY·shuhn EH·ferts er pruh·TEHK·tuhng dhuh RAYN·for·uhst fruhm dee·for·uh·STAY·shuhn
"Conservation efforts have helped restore the local ecosystem successfully."
kahn·ser·VAY·shuhn EH·ferts huhv HEHLPT ruh·STOR dhuh LOH·kuhl EE·koh·sihs·tuhm suhk·SEHS·fuh·lee
"I recommend we assign a point person to coordinate the efforts."
ahy reh·kuh·MEHND wee uh·SAHYN uh POYNT PUR·suhn tuh koh·OR·duh·nayt dhee EH·ferts
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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 first syllable, not the others. Stretch EH — keep everything else short and quick.
eh·FERTS→EH·ferts
02
Pronouncing the "R" too clearly.
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R — the tongue curls back rather than rolling. The R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it, not two separate sounds.
… (no R)→… r (curl the tongue)
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "efforts" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "EH" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "EH-ferts" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "efforts"?
Americans use a relaxed retroflex R: the tongue curls back rather than rolling, and the R is one continuous sound with the vowel before it — not two separate sounds. Don't try to pronounce a separate vowel followed by a separate R. Treat them as a single shape.
Is the American pronunciation of "efforts" 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 "EH-ferts" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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