j/dʒ/
Touch the front of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, then release into a 'zh' position. Add vocal cord vibration.
How to pronounce gymnastics in American English
jihm·NA·stihks
Start here
Americans pronounce gymnastics as jihm-NA-stihks (/dʒɪmˈnæstɪks/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "She won the gold medal in gymnastics for her floor routine".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "gymnastics".
3 syllables, 10 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
m/m/
Press your lips together. Air flows through your nose. Vocal cords vibrate.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
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.
ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
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.
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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 second syllable, not the others. Stretch NA — keep everything else short and quick.
JIHM·na·STIHKS→jihm·NA·stihks
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "gymnastics" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "NA" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "jihm-NA-stihks" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "gymnastics" 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 "jihm-NA-stihks" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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