g/g/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate. Add vocal cord vibration, then release.
How to pronounce guests in American English
GEHSTS
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Americans pronounce guests as GEHSTS (/gɛsts/). In "guests", the "t" is squeezed between other consonants and drops out — the surrounding consonants flow together without it — most natural in flowing, casual speech; in careful or formal speech, the T may be lightly present. This is called the Silent T in Clusters, and it's why Americans sound more relaxed than the textbook. It comes out as GEHSTS. You'll hear it in sentences like "We should clean up before our guests arrive" or "Several guests recommended the lemon zest recipe" — more examples below.
Now you try.
Record yourself saying "guests" and play it back. The mic stays on your device — nothing's uploaded.
Sound by sound
Every sound in "guests".
1 syllable, 5 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
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.
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/
DroppedThe T is skipped entirely. Your tongue doesn't make contact at the T position.
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 "guests" in the wild.
Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.
"Several guests recommended the lemon zest recipe."
SEH·ver·uhl GEHSTS reh·kuh·MEHN·duhd dhuh LEH·muhn ZEHST REH·suh·pee
"She prepared a three-course meal for the dinner party guests."
shee pruh·PAIRD uh THREE KORS MEEL fer dhuh DIH·ner PAR·tee GEHSTS
"The residence hall has strict policies about overnight guests."
dhuh REH·zuh·duhns HAHL huhz STRIHKT PAH·luh·seez uh·BOWT oh·ver·NAHYT GEHSTS
"We need to vacuum the carpet before the guests arrive tonight."
wee NEED tuh VA·kyoom dhuh KAR·puht buh·FOR dhuh GEHSTS uh·RAHYV tuh·NAHYT
"We should clean up before our guests arrive."
wee shuud KLEEN UHP buh·FOR ar GEHSTS uh·RAHYV
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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
Pronouncing the T in a consonant cluster.
In "guests", the "t" is squeezed between other consonants and drops out — the surrounding consonants flow together without it — most natural in flowing, casual speech; in careful or formal speech, the T may be lightly present. /t/ is dropped entirely — the surrounding consonants flow together without the T.
guests→GEHSTS
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
Is the American pronunciation of "guests" 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 "GEHSTS" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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