How to pronounce free in American English

IPA /fri/ Syllables 1 · free Stress 1st syllable

FREE

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Americans pronounce free as FREE (/fri/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Life is full of fun if you feel free" or "She made a free throw to add one point to the score" — more examples below.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "free".

1 syllable, 3 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.

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.

ee/i/

Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.

In real conversation

Hear "free" in the wild.

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

"Censorship of the press is considered a violation of free speech."

SEHN·ser·shihp uhv dhuh PREHS uhz kuhn·SIH·derd uh vahy·uh·LAY·shuhn uhv FREE SPEECH

"I am completely free this Saturday if that works for everyone."

ahy uhm kuhm·PLEET·lee FREE dhihs SA·der·day ihf dhat WURKS fer EHV·ree·wuhn

"Life is full of fun if you feel free."

LAHYF ihz FUUL uhv FUHN ihf yoo FEEL FREE

"Please feel free to reach out if you require any clarification."

PLEEZ FEEL FREE tuh REECH OWT ihf yoo ruh·KWAHY·er EH·nee klair·uh·fuh·KAY·shuhn

"She made a free throw to add one point to the score."

shee MAYD uh FREE THROH tuh AD wuhn POYNT tuh dhuh SKOR

"The health center provides free services to enrolled students."

dhuh HEHLTH SEHN·ter pruh·VAHYDZ FREE SUR·vuh·suhz tuh ehn·ROHLD STOO·duhnts

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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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