How to pronounce grace in American English

IPA /greɪs/ Syllables 1 · grays Stress 1st syllable
GRAYS
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Americans pronounce grace as GRAYS (/greɪs/). It's 4 sounds in 1 syllable. The vowel glides through two positions, not one fixed shape — keep both halves audible.

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Sound by sound

Every sound in "grace".

1 syllable, 4 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

g/g/

Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.

Mouth position for /g/ as in GET
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.

ay/eɪ/

Start with your jaw slightly open and the front of your tongue forward and slightly up. Glide upward, your jaw closes a little more and your tongue arches higher toward the roof of the mouth.

s/s/

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

Mouth position for /s/ as in SUN
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Questions

Questions people ask about this.

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

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