How to pronounce head in American English

IPA /hɛd/ Syllables 1 · hehd Stress 1st syllable

HEHD

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Americans pronounce head as HEHD (/hɛd/). You'll hear it in sentences like "Who has the huge hat on his head?" or "We should probably head home soon" — 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 "head", the "d" 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 "head".

1 syllable, 3 sounds. Explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.

h/h/

Push a stream of air from your throat through your open mouth. No tongue or lip contact.

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.

d/d/

Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth. Add vocal cord vibration as you release.

In real conversation

Hear "head" in the wild.

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

"He shook his head and took the book back."

hee SHUUK hihz HEHD and TUUK dhuh BUUK BAK

"I try to think in the new language instead of translating in my head."

ahy TRAHY tuh thihngk ihn dhuh noo LANG·gwuhj uhn·STEHD uhv tranz·LAY·duhng ihn mahy HEHD

"The melody has been stuck in my head all day long."

dhuh MEH·luh·dee huhz bihn STUHK ihn mahy HEHD AHL DAY lahng

"The sunflower turns its head to follow the sun across the sky."

dhuh SUHN·flow·er TURNZ ihts HEHD tuh FAH·loh dhuh SUHN uh·KRAHS dhuh SKAHY

"We should probably head home soon."

wee shuud PRAH·blee HEHD HOHM SOON

"Who has the huge hat on his head?"

hoo huhz dhuh HYOOJ HAT ahn hihz HEHD

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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 "head", the "d" 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.

head→HEHD

Questions

Questions people ask about this.

Is the American pronunciation of "head" 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 "HEHD" 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 "head".

Hear "head" 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 "head". Start saying it.