How to pronounce fast in American English

IPA /fæst/ Syllables 1 · fast Stress 1st syllable

FAST

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Americans pronounce fast as FAST (/fæst/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Five fast fish" or "My younger brother loves to run fast" — more examples below.

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Sounds

75%

Clarity

68%

Stress

78%

Intonation

65%

Fluency

62%

Overall assessment

Our AI coach listens to your recording and grades 5 dimensions of pronunciation — then tells you exactly what to fix next.

72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

In "fast", the "t" 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 "fast".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. 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.

a/æ/

Drop the jaw noticeably. Keep the body of the tongue low and forward, and don't let the back of the tongue raise toward the soft palate. Pull the lip corners back slightly, almost a starting smile.

s/s/

Place your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your top teeth. Push air through the narrow gap. No voicing.

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.

In real conversation

Hear "fast" in the wild.

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

"Five fast fish."

FAHYV FAST FIHSH

"He struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the lesson."

hee STRUH·guhld tuh KEEP UHP wihth dhuh FAST PAYS uhv dhuh LEH·suhn

"I cannot believe how fast the kids have grown over the years."

ahy KA·naht buh·LEEV HOW FAST dhuh KIHDZ huhv GROHN OH·ver dhuh YEERZ

"My younger brother loves to run fast."

mahy YUHNG·ger BRUH·dher LUHVZ tuh RUHN FAST

"The photograph of the phone graph fades fast."

dhuh FOH·duh·graf uhv dhuh FOHN GRAF FAYDZ FAST

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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 "fast", the "t" 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.

fast→FAST

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

Now you try.

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Overall assessment

Common mistakes

Releasing the final consonant with a puff of air.

Every sound in "fast".

Hear "fast" 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 "fast". Start saying it.