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 exercise in American English
EHK·ser·sahyz
Start here
Americans pronounce exercise as EHK-ser-sahyz (/ˈɛksərˌsaɪz/). Stress falls on the first syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She monitors her heart rate during exercise" or "She decided to exercise her right to remain silent" — more examples below.
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "exercise".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
s/s/
Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.
er/ər/
Relax your mouth and lift the tongue back and up. Keep the lips 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.
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.
z/z/
Same position as S, but add vocal cord vibration. Feel the buzz.
In real conversation
Hear "exercise" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"I have been trying to get more exercise into my daily routine."
ahy hav bihn TRAHY·uhng tuh geht MOR EHK·ser·sahyz IHN·too mahy DAY·lee roo·TEEN
"I prefer to wake up early so I have time to exercise before work."
ahy pruh·FUR tuh WAYK UHP UR·lee SOH ahy hav TAHYM tuh EHK·ser·sahyz buh·FOR WURK
"My morning routine is to wake up, exercise, and have breakfast."
mahy MOR·nuhng roo·TEEN ihz tuh WAYK UHP EHK·ser·sahyz and hav BREHK·fuhst
"She decided to exercise her right to remain silent."
shee duh·SAHY·duhd tuh EHK·ser·sahyz her RAHYT tuh ruh·MAYN SAHY·luhnt
"She monitors her heart rate during exercise."
shee MAH·nuh·terz her HART RAYT DUUR·uhng EHK·ser·sahyz
"The pilates instructor corrected her posture during the exercise."
dhuh puh·LAH·deez uhn·STRUHK·ter kuh·REHK·tuhd her PAHS·cher DUUR·uhng dhee EHK·ser·sahyz
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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 EHK — keep everything else short and quick.
ehk·SER·SAHYZ→EHK·ser·SAHYZ
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 "exercise" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the first syllable — say "EHK" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "EHK-ser-sahyz" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
How do I pronounce the R in "exercise"?
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 "exercise" 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 "EHK-ser-sahyz" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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